The Bottle Ship Incident (Remastered)
by Lady Aran
Summary: Shortly after the fall of the Space Pirates and destruction of Zebes, the Galactic Federation has once again called upon Samus Aran to help an elite Army squadron in their investigation of a derelict research vessel after having lost contact with it three weeks ago. But not all is as it seems... Part 1 in the updated "Destiny Interrupted: Remastered" series.
1. Trials and Tribulations

**Author's Notes:** Let me be clear, though this story is set during the events of Other M, I've taken the creative license to change certain aspects of it, some big and some small. Samus, for example, looks more like how she did during the original Prime and Super Metroid; she's tall, she's muscular, and a bit rough around the edges. Also, while Zero Mission established her Zero Suit, I've omitted its canon impact from this story.

And, in light of some...complaints, I feel this needs to be said - how Samus acts in the games and how she acts in my head are two different things. In my head, she's not the all-powerful being the games make her out to be, especially during the Prime series. She's human, and she struggles with herself. She's flawed. She has mental health issues that she doesn't know how to properly cope with. To me, this "Human Samus" is far more interesting that "Game Samus". So if you're expecting to find omnipotent "Game Samus" in this, or any of my work, I suggest you just play the games instead. You won't find her here.

I'd like to dedicate this work to my wonderful Lady - you know who you are! - Legendary Swordsman, JayRain and theeternalrival1. You guys are the best :)

 **Chapter 1: Trials and Tribulations**

* * *

Bounty hunter Samus Aran awoke to the painful glow of fluorescent lights and the muffled sound of a female voice calling to her. Her head felt as if it were swimming. Her body felt as if she had just been hit by an Anhur-class freighter. It even hurt to move her eyes as they scanned the rather small room awash in steel paneling. Though the hunter's vision was rather fuzzy, she was able to identify several monitors on the walls and an empty medical pod on the other side of the room. Various monitoring devices were fixed to her body, keeping track of her breathing, blood pressure and pulse rate. A breathing apparatus was strapped to her face. A Medical Officer was approaching her.

The weary hunter was slowly able to identify the officer, now at her bedside. A female of average height, wearing the standard-issue uniform of the Navy's Fleet Trooper. Blue eyes, feminine jaw and facial features. Her voice was calm as she examined the nodes attached to the bounty hunter's body while carefully removing the breathing apparatus strapped to her face. "You're awake. Thank goodness. Samus, my name is Dr. Wells; you're inside Medlab Delta aboard the G.F.S Olympus. How are you feeling?"

Still groggy, it was all Samus could do to reply, "Like I'm going to be sick," as she tried to restrain her gag reflex.

Dr. Wells' eyes briefly skimmed over Samus' form before returning to the data pad she held in her hand. "That's normal considering how long you were in stasis. It'll pass soon. The good news is that your vital signs are stable. Quite an improvement over when you first arrived." With her free hand, Dr. Wells carefully removed the sensors attached to various points on the mercenary's body.

Samus gave the other woman a look of perplexity as she worked. "…Out? How long was I out?"

Dr. Wells removed the last senor attached to Samus' wrist, then looked at her. "About two and a half months. According to the report, your ship was found by a team of Federation Marines while on a training mission in the FS-176 solar system; they found you unconscious aboard your gunship and immediately brought you aboard."

Samus felt truly grateful, yet her voice remained monotone and aloof. "Be sure to give them my thanks, doctor."

Dr. Wells wore a gentle smile. "Of course," she replied as her eyes continued down to the long list of injuries the bounty hunter had sustained. A fractured collar bone, several broken ribs, lacerations and contusions, a bruised lung, internal bleeding... "It's amazing how well you've held up. To survive a battle like that... you must be truly remarkable."

The hunter regarded the doctor's words but did not make eye contact, her voice rather blunt. "...Right, remarkable. The only reason I'm still alive is because I never quit until my mission is deemed completed, even if it takes having to sacrifice myself to do so."

 _Well, one of the reasons_ , Samus thought to herself as she reached into her most recent past.

Mother Brain...she'd nearly died at the hands of the reborn Mother Brain, if it hadn't been for the Baby...

She had survived countless near-death battles over the years – violent scuffles with Ridley. Her Phazon doppelganger, Dark Samus. The Metroid Prime, and countless others. And every one of them had been fought with her trademark tenacity and spirit. But the battle with the reborn Mother Brain had all but brought her to her knees both mentally and physically. Mother Brain's power, savage in its existence, seemed unstoppable, her defenses impervious to anything Samus had at her disposal. As she sat back in the medical pod, Samus remembered feeling truly helpless for the first time in her life. Remembered the fear, the desperation, the ominous alarms wailing inside her helmet warning her of certain death. The notion that despite her power, she was still very much a mere mortal beneath that infamous orange armor. In a twist of irony, the same race that had saved her life would also be the same race who would end it.

The memories of that heated battle came rushing back to her in vivid torrents. The hunter felt her heart wrench as the sound of the Baby's final cry echoed in her mind. In a twist of fate, the sole survivor of the species she had been ordered to destroy had ultimately ended up saving her life. In some strange way, one that she was sure wasn't exactly healthy, Samus had felt as if she'd watched her own child being ruthlessly murdered before her very eyes.

The finality of it all struck her once again. Never again would she see the Baby. Never. In that moment, she realized with melancholy that yet another thing she'd grown close to had been so cruelly taken from her. It was enough to drive any normal person into a never-ending depression. But as she pushed the tears and pain back, Samus knew she could not change what had happened, but merely accept it and move on.

Samus slowly brought her hand to within inches of her face and stared as if she were looking for something. She looked… different. Something was aesthetically different about her. Glancing down at herself, Samus realized she was wearing a cyan blue body suit adorned with pink Chozo symbols on the breast, left hand and back that all faded in and out as she breathed. The suit was quite different from the usual leotard she was used to wearing beneath her armor, and yet felt oddly familiar as if it were a second skin.

"What is this?" she asked dully.

Dr. Wells beamed. "You've noticed. Just a little something the Science Department has been working on ever since you arrived. Apparently, your previous suit was so badly damaged that they had to redesign it from the ground up."

Samus said nothing in reply. Instead, she merely stood on legs that felt weak and oddly heavy from the extended period of atrophy they had been in. The soles of her boots clicked against the steel floor as her new suit flexed under her movement.

Taking note of the look of concern on Samus's face, Dr. Wells issued calm reassurance. "Don't worry. The effect should wear off quickly once you resume regular ambulatory function "

Samus took a few moments to pace up and down the small room to rid her legs of the strange, heavy feeling and was back to walking normally after only a few passes.

Pleased that the woman was now steady on her feet, Dr. Wells directed her to the Battery Test Area.

On her way out, Samus suddenly stopped before the automatic doors to look behind her. "Thanks for keeping me alive, Dr. Wells. Even if I shouldn't be alive right now."

Next door, Samus stood in the center of the large room covered from top to bottom in thick steel plating looking up at the two Science Officers inside the control room. One of them, a man with wavy brown hair, glasses and freckles on his cheeks, began to speak over the intercom. "Welcome, Samus. I'm Dr. Lawrence, and this is my colleague, Dr. Murphy. What you are wearing is a one-of-a-kind battle suit, a perfect marriage of Chozo and Federation technology. This is its thinnest layer of armor, which we call the Zero Suit, made from an extremely durable, yet highly flexible, mix of polymers and Talloric Alloy for added durability. While you are the most agile within the Zero Suit, you are also the most vulnerable as well. Be aware that your only defense while in the Zero Suit is a simple pistol able to shoot paralyzing shots of energy -"

"We call it the Paralyzer," interjected the stout Dr. Murphy in a nasal tone of voice.

Samus eyed the holster on her right thigh before returning her attention to the Science Officers.

Dr. Lawrence promptly continued, "Yes, quite. At any rate, be advised that the weapon is most powerful when fully charged. However, it is unable to inflict any type of severe damage even in a fully charged state; the weapon is merely meant for basic defense until proper weaponry is acquired. Which brings me to my next point…"

Samus interjected sharply. "Wait! Are you telling me that this pistol is all I have to defend myself with?! Are you guys fucking kidding me?" She was understandably angry, even a bit worried. After all, she was essentially a human tank while in her Power Suit and its various armors. To go from that to nothing more than a skin tight bodysuit and a simple pistol had rattled her to say the least.

Dr. Lawrence calmly reassured the fervid woman. "While in the Zero Suit, yes. The Paralyzer will be all you have to protect yourself with. But I assure you, there is more to this suit than meets the eye, as my colleague here will explain. Dr. Murphy?"

There was a sense of eagerness in the portly man's voice, "The most fascinating thing about the Zero Suit is that it stores all of the data regarding your Power Suit within its fibers. Think of it as a type of second skin. To summon - and maintain - your Power Suit, however, requires that you remain in a state of intense mental focus. Go ahead and try it out, Samus."

Samus was skeptical to say the least, if only because she was more accustomed to far more advanced Chozo technology as opposed to Federation technology. Samus squared her feet and crossed her arms out in front of her. She closed her eyes and began to focus. The Chozo symbols on her back and hand began to glow as her focus intensified, and soon, a blinding flash of light shot out from the Chozo symbol on her breast, shrouding her in tiny cubes, each one of them a fragment of her Power Suit. Within a matter of seconds, her Power Suit materialized over her body, with the helmet the last to appear. Her skepticism quickly turned into slight admiration over what the Federation was able to produce. It was something even the Chozo would be proud of.

Dr. Murphy smiled, pleased with her flawless execution. "That's exactly how it's done. You're quite the quick study."

Dr. Lawrence took over. "You will immediately notice that this version of your Power Suit has been slightly modified from the previous version; when you arrived here, your suit was heavily damaged and needed to be redesigned from the ground up. Though this new version is still very much a product of Chozo design, it is far lighter in terms of material and implemented with advanced Federation technology, namely a system that allows you to refill energy tanks and weapon systems using mental kinetic energy - a process we refer to as Concentration - it works very similar to the way you just activated your Power Suit. It is designed to activate upon the detection of critically low energy reserves. This technology is still in its beta stage, but we hope to incorporate it into Federation Marine and Army Power Suits within the next few cycles."

"So I'm your guinea pig, is that it?" Samus deadpanned as she examined herself. Though this "new" version of her beloved suit still retained the overall look and feel of the original, it didn't feel quite as bulky as she remembered. It felt a lot lighter, almost as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. It also appeared to be more stream-lined than the original. Other than that, she was pleased to see that it hadn't changed too drastically. Though she would never let the Federation scientists see it, Samus was actually a bit excited over her redesigned suit despite her stoic expression.

Dr. Lawrence chuckled and adjusted his glasses, amused. "I wouldn't think of it that way, Samus. Think of it as being the first to usher in a new era of technology. A pioneer, if you will."

Samus, however, remained unmoved by his optimism. "…Right. So, now that you've briefed me on my new suit, is my Gunship ready?"

Dr. Murphy smiled. "Yes it is. But first, we would just like you to run through a quick exam to confirm that you are fit to proceed. I understand you're anxious to be on your way, but this should only take a few minutes. Shall we get started?"

Samus was put through a series of tests that measured her reflexes, accuracy and awareness, as well as testing out the suit's new recharge ability, while within the confines of her revamped Power Suit. As was true to her nature, the bounty hunter attained perfect marks on the test battery and was cleared to proceed to her awaiting Hunter-class Gunship.

Samus watched as Dr. Lawrence looked at her with a grin on his face and adjusted his glasses again. "Impressive as always, Aran. Looks like you're ready to go. You're wanted at Galactic Federation HQ. Proceed to Docking Bay Twelve."

Samus couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the grin plastered across his face suddenly made her feel a tad uneasy. Then again, she had never been a very trusting sort. But she did have a way of being able to read people, and right now, the look on the wavy-haired man's face was enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Putting the uneasiness aside, Samus calmly walked out of the large room and proceeded down the tight corridor.

Inside Docking Bay Twelve, Samus entered her Gunship and set her flight path for Planet Earth.

* * *

Samus stood within the large rotunda of the Galactic Federation Assembly Hall where she was to be questioned about the destruction of Planet Zebes. What's more, they wanted to question her in regards to the illegal transporting of the infant Metroid to the Ceres Space Colony, as well as the colony's sudden destruction. Present for the hearing was none other than the Supreme Chairman of the Galactic Federation himself, a short, green-skinned alien named Keaton. With a single pounding of his gavel, Keaton ordered the hearing to begin, but not before chastising the bounty hunter about her choice of attire. "You will show this rotunda some respect and power down your armor immediately, Ms. Aran."

Samus defied the green-skinned alien. "No, thanks. I'm quite comfortable the way I am, Chairman."

The large hall soon erupted into a cacophony of astonishment and disgust as members began to talk among themselves. They knew well of Samus Aran's brash reputation (among other things), but never had they seen anyone show such disrespect to the Supreme Chairman of the Federation before. By refusing to comply with Chairman Keaton's request, it was almost as if Samus was challenging the entire Federation itself.

Chairman Keaton pounded his gavel with thunderous authority and instantly silenced the rotunda. His usually calm voice was now filled with hints of admonition. "Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Aran. If you do not comply with this order, I will have no choice but to find you guilty of contempt and terminate your contract."

It was a nice way of saying she would be thrown in jail and not get paid. Reluctantly, Samus powered down her armor and stood before the senate in her Zero Suit.

Satisfied, Chairman Keaton continued. "Ms. Aran, it is clear by your presence that you did in fact accomplish your mission to SR-388. But what isn't as clear is the reason behind the sudden destruction of Planet Zebes and the Ceres Space Colony. However, we have reason to believe, given your reputation, that you were behind its demise. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Samus recalled the events right after defeating the Metroid queen on their homeworld in which she stumbled upon a lone Metroid egg that hatched right before her very eyes and, being she was the first thing it seen, imprinted her as its mother and started following her like a confused child. She had decided to keep it within her ship's quarantine bay until eventually deciding to entrust the creature to the researchers at Ceres station, where they later discovered the Metroid larva's powers could be used to the benefit of galactic civilization. After collecting a sizable amount of credits for the creature, Samus left the station in search of a new bounty when she suddenly picked up a distress signal from the colony.

Upon her return, with the station now running on auxiliary power, Samus was shocked and horrified to discover the still warm corpses of the researchers strewn about the length of the main deck as she ran through corridor after corridor searching, hoping, for any sign of survivors and wondering who - or what – had attacked the station. Having found no trace of survivors, Samus came upon a large, darkened room, only to discover the Metroid larva floating within its containment pod, its nuclei pulsating.

"That's when Ridley appeared," Samus recalled, her voice full of contempt for the space dragon. "I watched him grab the Metroid in his talons before quickly engaging him in a brief battle. At one point, I thought I'd managed to drive him away because I saw him drop the Metroid pod and attempted to recover it. But I was too late. Not only did Ridley regain control of the Metroid, but he'd also activated the colony's self-destruct mechanism before retreating. I barely escaped with my life."

Keaton nodded slowly and appeared to be mulling the hunter's account over in his mind. She might have been a bit brash, but she cut no corners when it came to the truth, unlike many of her fellow hunters who were willing to pretty much lie through their teeth in order to get paid. And this Keaton found to be respectable. But he needed to know more. "Understood, Ms. Aran. But, how then do you explain the sudden destruction of Zebes?"

Samus went on to explain how she'd tracked the dragon to the planet, but had lost the signal shortly after landing in the middle of Crateria. The planet appeared unchanged on the surface, but upon exploration of its many sub-levels, Samus knew the Pirates had been busy ever since their first defeat on the same planet years ago. They had built a new Tourian, submerged within the core of the planet, and were yet again propagating Metroids within its corridors.

"After the battle with Mother Brain, due to her chamber being close to the planet's core, the explosion triggered an imminent collapse of the entire planet. I was barely able to escape with my life before the planet exploded."

The entire hall soon fell into silence as representatives from all walks of life deliberated within the private confines of their hearts and minds the very distinct possibility that the mercenary was, in fact, telling the truth.

After moments of deliberation, Keaton had finally reached a decision. "While we are in your debt for having eliminated the Metroids, the Space Pirates and their organization, we cannot overlook the fact that an entire planet and research facility had to be sacrificed in the process, whether it was your intent or not. Nor can we overlook the fact that you chose to engage in the unlawful act of illegally transporting Class-A contraband in the form of a sentient lifeform. Therefore, it is with regret that I hereby sentence you to six months in jail and order you to pay a maximum fine of one hundred-thousand credits for failure to abide by the law regarding the transportation of illegal cargo. Are these charges understood, Ms. Aran?"

Samus felt like she'd just been stabbed in the back by the decision. She'd risked her life to put an end to the Metroid menace and end the war, had sacrificed everything, including her fragile mental health, just so these talking heads around her could stab her in the back and sweep her accomplishments under the rug? "No! No these charges are not understood!" she yelled, her temper flaring. "You ran my ass ragged during the war, and goddamn it, I accomplished every mission you assigned! And what did it get me? Six months in the brig and a fucking fine?! Fuck that!"

Keaton slammed his gavel. "You will conduct yourself in the proper manner and respect the Hall's ruling, Ms. Aran!"

"Respect? You want me to show you respect, after what you just did to me?! I don't think so!"

Keaton's voice dripped with authority as he went to strike the gavel again. "Take her away!"

Before Samus could react, the hunter found her wrists shackled with a pair of energy binders and being promptly escorted out of the room by a pair of military police officers.


	2. The 07 Squadron

**Chapter 2: The 07 Squadron**

* * *

Days went by in their quiet way. Weeks turned into months. People's recollections of Metroids and Space Pirates had grown distant, relegated to the pages of Cosmic History. Samus wasn't sure how much time had passed since she'd been thrown in jail for contempt of court. Strangely, all she could think about was the Baby and how it had sacrificed its life to save her. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the creature had managed to survive. Would it grow into a apex-predator like its brethren? The short answer was, most likely. Thanks to the Federation, Space Pirates, and a myriad of failed experiments from both organizations, however, they grew to become an abomination to the universe. An abomination only Samus could destroy.

The Federation also knew this, and so contracted her to destroy the species, to clean up the mess they had made. She had rightfully fulfilled this mission, as well as destroyed the remnants of the Space Pirates with the destruction of Zebes. And yet, she was laying here in a prison cell. What's more, her contract (and subsequent payment) had been terminated by Chairman Keaton. Samus couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal as she lay in her cell contemplating what was to become of her now that she was stuck here serving a cycle's worth of hard time over something so idiotic like a comment.

Samus continued to stare at the ceiling of her cell, lost in thought. _I risk my life and get thrown in prison because the Chairman has a bug up his ass… Unbelievable. He's one to talk about respect. Probably crooked like the rest of them…_

Suddenly, the deep voice of a man brought her from her reverie. "Ms. Aran? It seems as if the Federation is in need of your services yet again…"

Samus offered the man no warm welcome. "Typical Federation, changing your mind at the drop of a hat only if you feel it'll benefit you. Go find someone else to be your janitor…" she replied coldly.

The man's voice was gruff and serious. "Unfortunately, there is no one else capable enough I'm afraid. Now on your feet, Aran."

Samus sat up to address the mysterious man. Heavily-wrinkled face, sagging jowls, slender build. Looked to be somewhere in his sixties, possibly older. Dressed in the typical Federation Army Service Uniform of a General officer. From the looks of the many insignia on his uniform, Samus gathered he was a four-star General. Still, as was true to her nature, the salty hunter was without censor as sarcasm filled her voice. "Well, shit, imagine that? A full General, come to see me? Must be pretty serious if they sent you."

The General, whose nameplate identified as Westbrook, remained stoic as he removed his service hat. "It is, I'm afraid. Chairman Keaton sent me here to secure your liberty in return for your agreeing to undertake this latest mission. Approximately three weeks ago, we lost contact with a research vessel located at Cosmos Region A-47. We would like you to assist a squadron of soldiers in their investigation of the vessel. Should you accept this mission, you are to rendezvous with the unit aboard the Special Ops Battleship Vixin IV immediately. The CO in charge of the operation will brief you further regarding the mission parameters. What do you say, Aran?"

Samus kept her eyes on the General. "I say don't expect me to hold their hands during this investigation, General. Even if they are Special Ops."

His voice seemed to convey a sense of pride as a slight grin curved one corner of his mouth. "I can assure you there will be no hand holding, Aran; you will be dealing with the Seventh Squadron, one of the most skilled teams in the entire Army. Damn fine crop of men, the best."

Samus was almost ruthless in her reply, "I don't care how skilled they are, they'd better stay out of my way. Now, what's in it for me?"

The General seemed amused. "A ball buster, as always Aran; the Federation is willing to pay you double for a successful mission, plus reimburse you the payment of one-hundred-fifty thousand credits for your last mission, as well as drop all charges of Planetary Genocide, contempt of court and smuggling of illegal contraband."

Samus came to a sitting position on the cold steel slab. Burying her head into her hands, her stiff posture and deep focus suggested she was mulling things over in her mind. She had not became a bounty hunter for the money to begin with, but for vengeance. As was true of her decision to join the military shortly after leaving Zebes as a teenager. Vengeance. On those who killed her parents and left her orphaned. The bounties she received were more or less a result of this. But now that she had finally succeeded in fulfilling her life-long mission of exterminating the Space Pirates, Samus had long since felt a new void forming in her heart, one longing for something more outside of this vicious cycle, something all the money in the world couldn't buy. Still, the prospect of such a payment - in addition to the rest of the credits she'd acquired over the years - would bring with it the possibility of finally being able to move down a different path in life and put her past behind her once and for all.

Samus rose to her feet and approached the cell door. Her eyes, filled with cut-throat intensity, met those of the weathered General. "Just what does this investigation entail, General?"

"I believe I've already made it clear that the CO in charge of the operation will brief you once you arrive at the rendezvous point, did I not?"

"Fine. Play coy. I'll only do it on one condition: Drop the charges and pay me for my last mission up front." Samus replied coldly. "Do we have a deal?"

The General gave a slight chuckle. "I see time in the brig has done nothing to dull your edge, Aran. I will see what I can do."

Without saying a word, the old man left the room.

A few hours later, the General returned to confirm that he was able to persuade Chairman Keaton into dropping the charges against Samus and agreeing to reimburse her payment of two-hundred fifty thousand credits for completing her previous mission. In return, Samus agreed to accept the mission. There was another catch though, one that didn't particularly sit well with the lone-wolf hunter. As part of the agreement, she was required to follow the CO's every order, without question. For somebody who had been discharged from the Army for constantly disobeying orders, it was quite the bitter pill Samus had been forced to swallow.

Sitting in the cockpit of her Gunship, Samus couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy as the world passed her by outside. This is what her life had more or less become, what she had become. Not a bounty hunter, not a mercenary, but the resident janitor of the Galactic Federation.

 _With a little luck_ , she thought as her fingers moved across a nearby keypad, _it'll all change after this..._

Samus activated the ship's engines and headed once more into the breach that was the cosmos, en route to the rendezvous point.

Little did she know just how much this latest mission would end up changing her life...

* * *

Aboard the Federation Special Ops Battleship Vixin IV, several members of the Seventh Squadron, codenamed "Vulcan", gathered in the ship's mess hall for chow while exchanging conversation over the mission they were to embark on and the mysterious agent who would be assisting them during the operation.

One of them, a gruff sounding man with short brown hair and a sharp, crooked nose, scoffed as he ate his meal. "Can you guys believe this shit? Hiring one of those third-party assholes is like a slap in the face to us grunts!"

The eldest of the three gentlemen, somewhere in his late thirties with salt and pepper gray hair, attempted to diffuse his comrade's sudden temper. "Don't be so quick to judge, Lyle. Command obviously hired this third-party for a reason."

The man known as Lyle looked at his elder comrade from across the table and swallowed his bite of food while rolling his eyes. "Here we go, the fucking Diplomat of the Seventh is at it again." he replied with a groan. "Wake up, Maurice! Don't you see what this is? They probably sent someone here to babysit or some shit like that. Don't trust us to do our jobs."

Next to Lyle sat the third member of the unit, a man who looked to be about five or more cycles his junior. Shoulder length brown hair, a distinguishable scar above his left brow and a patchy thin beard. "I don't like it anymore than you do, Lyle. But I have to agree with Maurice on this one. Besides, it isn't like any of us have a say in the matter. So button up, will you?"

Lyle just shook his head as he continued to eat.

James turned to look at his comrade. "You know, for someone whose supposed to be so gung-ho all the time, you really do whine like a bitch sometimes, you know that?" he teased.

Maurice, usually always wearing a serious, but gentle, expression on his face, couldn't help but snort over James' comment. "Heh. He's got you there, Lyle. Seems like those panties of yours are always in a knot about something."

Lyle quickly changed the subject, "Whatever. So what's the story on this third-party agent?"

James looked up from his food tray. "Rumor has it they single-handedly obliterated the Space Pirates, along with an entire planet several months back. But don't quote me on that."

Lyle remained skeptical while attempting to keep himself from gagging on a big bite of food. "Shit, what are you trying to make me do, choke?"

Maurice and James both shook their heads.

"Of course not. The bugs will take care of that." smirked James. "Our destination is probably full of them."

Lyle quickly swallowed his portion. "Fuck off!" he growled. "And that's bullshit. Ain't no way a single person would be able to pull that off, much less live to tell about it. They may as well be up there with fucking Bigfoot and Santa Claus if you ask me!"

Their watch-like comms devices suddenly beeped. "Enough, Lyle. Commander wants us to report to the briefing room immediately. Move out!" Maurice replied.

* * *

Maurice, Lyle, and James met up with fellow comrade Anthony inside of the briefing room and stood at attention before their CO. Dressed from head to toe in the tradition Army Service Uniform of a General officer, he was wearing a stoic expression on his face, his piercing gray eyes closely examining each of the men underneath the brim of his formal hat. Despite his intensity, the General spoke in a calm, even tone. "Thank you all for reporting in haste. The party who will be assisting us has just docked and is being escorted here as we speak."

"Just what exactly is this agent going to be doing besides getting in our way?" asked Lyle, much to the collective disdain of his comrades; James made sure to give his outspoken friend a good jab in the ribs with his elbow. It was basically his way of telling Lyle to keep his trap shut, especially in front of the commander.

The General replied in a calm tone of voice befitting of a seasoned military veteran. "I will not dignify that with an answer, Sergeant. I advise you to keep that and any other discrepancies you may have to yourself. And I'm sure I do not have to remind you of the consequences should you fail to do so."

Yet Lyle kept digging. "It's a warranted question, sir. I mean no disrespect by it. I merely want to be able to perform my duties to the best of my ability without distraction."

The General's gray eyes bore into the outspoken man with the crooked nose. "I'm sure. But what makes you more entitled to this information over the rest of your fellow soldiers? Surely you do not think you're any better than they are?"

"No, sir. Just-"

The General's eyes narrowed. "Good."

The doors slid open with the entrance of a sergeant dressed in the Army's dark blue and gray digital camo combat dress. Towering next to him stood a figure cloaked from head to toe in a mysterious suit of yellow and red armor. The figure literally had a large cannon for a right forearm. Its left arm looked far more human. The armor cloaked figure towered over pretty much everyone else in the room, save for one of the men, as it stepped into the briefing room and began to quietly observe the men standing before it.

"General Malkovich, mercenary Aran, sir." announced the sergeant with a salute.

"Thank you, Sergeant Platt. Dismissed." replied the General.

Word of the agent's arrival soon caused the other soldiers to look upon the golden cyborg with mild awe. There were many bounty hunters and mercenaries in the universe, but only one of them really struck palpable fear into the hearts of criminals and the like across the universe. Samus Aran, protector of peace and destroyer of worlds. When all else failed, she would somehow prevail against the unfathomable odds when all hope seemed lost. Her planetary exploits would forever be the stuff of legends long after her death.

Lyle and James stood there flabbergasted while Maurice, Anthony and General Malkovich kept their usual cool before the figure clad in golden armor.

"Samus Aran? THE Samus Aran?" asked James, his brown eyes big with surprise.

The towering cyborg turned to approach both men before speaking to them in a synthesized voice. "That's correct. Is there a problem?"

James stiffed up. "No, ma'am. In fact, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The armor-clad figure towered directly in front of him, its face hidden beneath the red helmet. "Cut the bullshit. Don't get in my way, understand? And stop calling me 'ma'am'." she said coldly.

"Yes, ma'am." James nodded.

Standing next to him, Lyle crossed his arms and shook his head in disgust. "And you call yourself a man..."

"Stand down, Sgt. Smithsonian!" the General interjected sharply from across the room. He was standing before the outspoken man in a little more than three great strides, his gray eyes boring a hole through him. "You will show Ms. Aran the respect becoming of a soldier under my command. Is this understood?"

Lyle was quick to stiffen up, knowing he was one smart ass comment away from being kicked out of the prestigious unit or serving the remainder of his service on planet bumfuck. "Sir, yes, sir!"

The General's eyes narrowed. "Good. Remember that well, Sergeant." He turned to look at the bounty hunter. "Ms. Aran, welcome to the Special Ops Battleship, Vixin IV. I'm General Malkovich, the CO who will be overseeing this operation."

 _Still the same old Adam…_ Samus mused to herself _._ _Won't let anybody in._ The hunter approached the General then and began to take inventory of her former mentor. He'd aged rather well despite the perpetual stress of his job, with only a few wrinkles on his handsome face. There was something different about his eyes though, as they locked with those of the armored woman in front of him. Something she had noticed upon first entering the room. Those gray eyes of his had always appeared intense and cold, but not necessarily heartless. But as the bounty hunter continued to lock eyes with the General, she could feel a certain warmth in his eyes, a thawing of sorts, having been repressed for so many years.

"General Malkovich. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Samus replied with a slow nod.

General Adam Malkovich. Unbeknownst to the other soldiers, Adam and the bounty hunter shared a complicated history that ultimately turned into a friendship built on trust and understanding. Samus had served under Adam's command when she was a teenager. But that friendship became strained after Aran decided to travel a different path in life as an independent bounty hunter. But rather than hold her in contempt for her choice, Adam had continued to quietly support her throughout the years.

"Right. Let's get started, then," Adam replied before standing in the center of the room. His voice suddenly boomed within the small room. "Stand and present!"

Anthony, Lyle, James and Maurice stood side by side in front of their CO, while Samus stood off to the General's right.

"You will all report your name and rank to Ms. Aran immediately. Go!"

The first man up was definitely the most intense-looking. Short brown hair, a rugged, chipped face, crooked nose, brown eyes that could burn through denzium. Appeared to be somewhere in his early thirties. His voice was rough just like the rest of him. "Sergeant Lyle Smithsonian, Special Ops."

The second man looked older than the rest of the soldiers, given his salt and pepper gray hair and receding hairline. He looked very serious by nature, but not arrogant. Gentle. He spoke with a subtle French accent. "Sergeant First Class Maurice Favreau, Engineer and Second in Command."

The third soldier looked to be somewhere in his mid-twenties but decidedly more off-putting for some reason. Shoulder length brown hair, thin beard, a distinguishing scar on his left brow. His voice was one of calmness...and something else Samus couldn't quite put her finger on. "Specialist James Pierce, Intelligence."

The last member of the team was a large, muscular, dark-skinned beast of a man. Bald, brown eyes. He had a jovial, easy-going look in his eyes despite the stern expression on his face. Samus had immediately recognized him upon entering the room. "Captain Anthony Higgs, Point and Heavy Weapon Specialist."

 _Captain? Not bad..._ Samus mused.

"As ease, Seventh Squadron." Adam directed before the men relaxed.

Adam activated a large holo-screen displaying an oddly-shaped vessel before beginning his briefing. "Approximately three weeks ago, a research vessel known as the Bottle Ship suddenly fell into chaos. Intel suggests that the researchers aboard the ship were conducting experiments on a number of hostile bio-forms prior to the issuing of a distress signal. It is still unknown at this time who - or what - is responsible for the attack on the station, or if there are any survivors still present. Our mission is to investigate the cause of the attack, as well as locate and secure the safety of any survivors still aboard the Bottle Ship."

Adam pushed a small button on the wall terminal, the holograph turning red, blue and green. "Schematics indicate the presence of three sectors, each of which is based on one of three elements - fire, ice and earth. However, we won't know what's inside those sectors until we arrive. I want this mission to go smooth and by the numbers…" Adam's voice trailed off as he eyed Smithsonian with an icy glare. "Which means no blowing your load at the drop of a hat, Sgt. Smithsonian. That almost cost SFC. Favreau his life last time around. If I so much as see you fire a single round for no justifiable reason, your ass will be out of here, understood?"

"Got it, boss." replied Smithsonian with cool confidence.

"As for the rest of you, are these orders understood?"

The four men gave the Federation's trademark thumbs up to denote their acknowledgment of the mission. Then, Adam turned his attention to Samus. "As for you, Samus, though you are an independent contractor, you are still a member of this unit for the duration of this mission. Therefore, you are to obey my commands and activate your weapons only with my authorization. I also ask that you abstain from the use of Power Bombs. As you know, they can emit a high-temperature blast radius that cannot be obstructed by common materials, which is just a nice way of saying they can incinerate anything in their path. Any survivors on board wouldn't stand a chance. Regarding auxiliary weapons, I will authorize them as necessary. Do you understand?"

Samus gave a simple nod.

"Report to the hangar at 1800 hours. That's the end of the briefing. Dismissed!"

As the soldiers filed out one by one, Anthony slung his arm around Samus' round shoulder armor as they walked out the room.

"Looks like you and I have a lot of catching up to do, Princess." he said jovially, his voice echoing down the hall as he led Samus down the cramped corridor

In the mess hall, Samus couldn't help but feel the walls around her heart begin to soften as she sat, clad in her Zero Suit, which Anthony was apparently in awe of ("Make your armor appear again!" he'd kept saying), talking with Anthony about her travels over a simple, but rarely tangible, cup of coffee. Talks about her so-called "Zero Mission" to Planet Zebes, her adventures to Tallon IV, Aether, Bryyo, Elysia, the latter of which she admitted to being the most beautiful. Anthony had just sat there with an almost child-like gleam of excitement in his eyes - here he was, listening to the grand adventures of the legendary Samus Aran! Even more unbelievable, he found, was that he was actually one of the few people in existence to be able to call her a friend and not a foe.

It suddenly felt like old times again.

If only for a moment.


	3. The Shape of Things to Come

**Author's Notes:** From here on out, you may read Adam as being referred to "Commander" quite often. While there is a "Commander" rank (O-5) within the US Navy, for the sake of simplicity, the two are not to be confused here. Basically, while Adam is a 4-star General, he is also the Commander of his particular unit. Get it? Okay! On with the story!

 **Chapter 3: The Shape of Things to Come  
**

* * *

In the large hangar sat the Galactic Federation Military Transport vehicle code-named "Hygieia," an all-purpose patrol ship registered exclusively to the Army's 7th Squadron. Blue in color, its design looked very similar to another Anhur-class vessel known as the G.F.S. "Tyr" that Samus encountered during a mission to the Planet Aether. Several Army mechanics were busy running through their final checks of the ship before it was set to depart.

Adam's men reported to the hangar at exactly 1800 hours, each dressed in the standard-issue combat power suit of the Federation Army. Blue, black and dark gray in color, it appeared far less aggressive in design than the suits worn by Federation Marines. Each of the men stood with an P51 assault rifle held at an angle against their shoulder, the orange visors of their helmets up and revealing their serious expressions. In front of them stood Adam Malkovich, also dressed in full battle gear with the visor of his helmet raised. Standing off to the side from the team, Samus watched with a pang of fondness as Adam moved into his familiar stance: feet shoulder-length apart, arms behind his back; his posture was rigid and unflinching. There was an unmistakable aura of pride and authority resonating from him.

At that moment, she suddenly felt twenty again. But not quite so angry as she'd been at that age.

His voice boomed within the large hangar. "Seventh Squadron, sound off!"

"Hooah!" cried the soldiers in thunderous, proud unison.

Adam issued the soldiers one of his famous - but intimidating - pep talks. "Each one of you is here because you are the best. And I expect nothing but the best throughout this mission. Anything less than that is a waste of my time, and I do not waste my time on soldiers who do not put their best effort forth. Do I make myself clear?!"

Again, the soldiers issued the familiar Army War Cry, "Hooah!"

"Move out!"

One by one, the soldiers of the 7th squadron filed into the ship. The hot-head of the group, Lyle Smithsonian, sounded particularly eager to begin the mission, as Samus could hear him stirring his comrades into a frenzy about how they were going to "kick ass and take names" despite the fact that they hadn't even left yet.

 _Fool. It is your arrogance that will lead to your downfall._ Samus thought to herself with slight disgust as the arrogant soldier continued to run his mouth.

Adam calmly approached Samus before stepping one foot inside the transport. His voice was calm, his question rhetorical. "Any objections, Lady?"

The acknowledgment of their trust. Hearing it again after so many years had awakened a long absent rush of...something - she wasn't quite sure what it was - within the hunter's heart. Saying nothing, Samus allowed her hand to speak for her: thumbs-down.

Adam grinned slightly before he lowered his visor and boarded the transport.

* * *

Samus opted to use her Gunship as opposed to traveling with Adam's men aboard the GFMT "Hygieia." Ever since becoming a bounty hunter, she had grown to enjoy (some would say preferred) being alone. But such solitude did have its drawbacks. Samus did sometimes find herself wishing she had someone to talk to on those rare occasions when the loneliness became a bit much.

As per her mission directive, she escorted the transport across hyperspace and into Cosmos Region A-47 where the Bottle Ship was located and took immediate note of the vessel's oddly-shaped exterior as it drifted amongst a sea of debris and space dust. True to its name, it looked just like a baby's bottle. Approaching the station, Samus carefully maneuvered her ship through giant pieces of debris and into one of the station's many docking bays.

The landing gear of her Hunter-class Gunship eased down slowly upon entering the large, deserted hangar; Samus felt a slight bump, then heard a sharp hiss of air as the gear depressurized. Having landed safely, Samus opened up a channel to the Hygieia and issued the command to land.

"Roger that. Commencing landing sequence." The pilot confirmed.

Soon, the Hygieia entered the hangar and docked just a bit further ahead of where Samus had landed and from it came Anthony to perform a quick sweep of the area. Once he deemed it safe, the others came from within the transport in a tight formation and headed up the long ramp with their guns drawn. Samus followed close behind, keeping her Arm Cannon raised and eyes peeled for any "unseen" threats. If it was true what Adam had said about the ship, there was no telling what was lurking in the darkness.

Their progress was soon cut short, however, when it was discovered that a door leading further into the station had been secured with a thick blast shield.

"See what you can do with that door, Sgt. Smithsonian." Adam directed as he gestured toward the door.

Samus and the others waited as the Special Ops soldier wasted no time in rigging the blast door with an explosive charge. It was like clock work for the ballistics and explosives expert; within a matter of a few moments, he gave a thumbs-up. "Commander, we're all prepped, sir!"

"Understood. Everyone fall back now!"

Once they were a safe distance away, Lyle announced, "fire in the hole!" and proceeded to trigger the explosive device via remote control. After a thunderous booming sound, a large cloud of smoke shrouded the blast door.

The smoke cleared. Not even a dent had been made.

"Shit, no dice," he cursed and crossed his arms, his brown eyebrows furrowing together in deep thought. "Looks like explosives are useless. Our only other option is to burn our way through... This may take awhile, Commander Malkovich."

Anthony stepped forward. His voice was full of calm protest. "I disagree with Sgt. Smithsonian, Sir. What we need is a way to focus an explosive blast in a centralized location. For all we know, the detonation could have at least weakened the shield's integrity... Hey Samus?" he turned his attention from Adam to Samus, grinning, "Think you could lend a couple of old friends a hand?"

Samus felt a slight twinge of annoyance even despite the fact that Anthony was a good friend of hers. The Army Commandant had spoken of the 7th squadron as if they were damn near god-like. And yet, their so-called Special Ops soldier couldn't even blow a hole through a simple blast shield? The mission was only beginning, and Samus was already questioning her decision to accept it. Despite her best efforts to bite her tongue, the outspoken hunter couldn't help but voice her annoyance, "If this is the best you guys can do, then you may as well leave. You guys are on your own next time." Samus approached both Adam and the door "Permission to engage, Commander?" she asked.

"Be my guest." Adam replied before Samus locked on to the center with her Arm Cannon and readied her missile launcher.

Everyone but Lyle approached a safe distance away from Samus, skeptical that what she was about to do would even work. "This ought to be good." mumbled Lyle.

"Everyone back, that's an order!" Adam advised sternly.

Some distance away from Samus, the men could do nothing but watch as the Hunter shot a missile at the door.

The sheer impact of the potent weapon had blown a hole clean through the blast shield, thereby allowing access to the door.

Lyle looked at the female bounty hunter grudgingly. "Lucky shot." he could be heard mumbling under his breath.

Samus caught his glare. "I suggest you wipe that look off your face before I rearrange it with my fist, Smithsonian. Or, I can make you look just like that door - take your pick." Her tone was icy as her eyes locked with Lyle's in a tense stare-down.

Even within the large hangar, the air felt heavy with tension as Samus slowly approached Lyle, undaunted by his reputation as a gung-ho soldier. Once she was mere feet away from him, Samus' eyes filled with an intimidating, icy stare. "Well? What's it going to be, Hot Shot? Remember, you couldn't even blow a hole through that door..."

Lyle bit his tongue. Nobody talked to him like that and got away with it. Anyone that did usually got decked. But there was something about this woman clad in golden armor that absolutely terrified him. Her cold eyes? That sharp tongue of hers? Just what the hell was it about her that caused him to shrink so badly in her presence?

Anthony attempted to diffuse the situation with a chuckle from the pit of his stomach, "Looks like a match made in heaven to me."

Lyle looked at his burly comrade out of the corner of his eye and shot him a jab in the ribs. "Fuck off, Higgs." he mumbled as Anthony continued to laugh.

Adam grew impatient as he crossed his arms. "That's enough. Well, are you waiting for an invitation, Smithsonian? Hurry up and open that door."

They advanced into the station, traversing a long steel catwalk and various rooms until they reached the station's Control Center located within the Main Sector. In the Control Room, Samus, Adam, and the other men soon stood in a circle in the center of the room, their heads down as they examined the disembodied corpse of a Bottle Ship scientist.

Examining the corpse and its pool of dried blood and entrails, the bounty hunter bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in the hope that it would distract her long enough to gather her composure, having suddenly been fragmented by the sight of the researcher's corpse. With Zebes and the horrors she encountered there and during the war still very fresh in her mind, Samus felt herself starting down a path she feared there would be no coming back from at the sight of the decomposing husk before her.

James Pierce raised his visor as his eyes scanned the deceased. "Looks like someone - or something - attacked him." He gently moved the body with his foot. From beneath the body, a small purple insect crawled out and darted off towards the front of the room where the control terminals were. Samus quickly scanned it before it got away. The simple insect was called a Brug, and was usually harmless by itself. Its real threat came when assembled in large groups; as a swarm, the Brug had the ability to take down creatures much larger than itself.

Lyle, in his Entomophobia-induced rage, suddenly kicked the insect into the air. "Get the fuck away from me!" he growled before opening fire on the simple insect.

James quickly put his hand on Smithsonian's shoulder, causing him to cease fire. "Lyle! Enough! You're wasting ammo!"

Anthony and fellow squad member Maurice Favreau began to laugh at their nervous comrade. It wasn't often one came across a supposedly tough grunt with a paralyzing fear of insects.

Adam issued a stern warning. "You secure that shit, Sergeant. Do I make myself clear? Consider this your only warning." Adam's face was stern, and his glare dark as he trained it on Lyle. There was clearly no room for argument.

While the others were having fun at the expense of Lyle, Samus and Adam remained less than amused. Samus looked at Adam and attempted to search his stern and focused expression for any insight into what he was thinking and feeling. As usual, he was proving impossible to read. Adam could feel her eyes upon him and silently acknowledged her before she had time to look away. He had a knowing look on his face, as if he'd sensed the very same "presence" as she had.

Samus was used to tension when she was in a room, but something in here was not quite right, even by her standards. "Everyone shut up! Something's not right here. Look!" She gestured to the far back wall with her Arm Cannon.

The other soldiers fell silent and turned their attention to the walls. What had started with one little Brug had quickly become a seemingly infinite number of the tiny purple insects making their way up the wall and onto the ceiling.

"What the hell? They're coming outta the walls!" noted Lyle with disbelief and alarm.

Adam issued a defensive directive before drawing his modified P51 assault rifle, "Everyone take arms! Open fire!"

Suddenly, a gruesome, eyeball-like creature descended from the ceiling and quickly became overwhelmed with the small purple insects and transformed into a titanic creature. Purple in color and gelatinous in appearance, its slimy arms and body swung about the room and knocked over Lyle as he attempted to fire his rifle. The impact of the creature's whip attack sent him reeling to the steel surface where he lay motionless for a few moments. Samus quickly rushed over to him, all the while evading the creature's attempts to pummel her with its whip-like arm attacks. While the sergeant attempted to shake off the effects of being hit by the purple behemoth, Samus provided cover fire with rapid shots of her Power Beam.

"Hurry, move! And pay attention next time, Hot Shot!" she yelled, the shots bouncing off the creature's rubbery purple body.

Lyle rolled out of the way and clambered to his feet. He aimed his weapon and fired.

Even after a lengthy exchange of gun fire, the mass remained intact and unscathed. Frustration and fatigue were beginning to mount amongst the soldiers as nothing seemed to affect the impervious, whirling beast. It was nearly impossible to evade the creature's impossibly long reach as its arms whipped and lunged about the room, pummeling the weary men. With nothing working and those around her growing increasingly fatigued and discouraged, Samus activated her Scan Visor in hopes of detecting a weak point; scans indicated that the eyeball, named the Emperor Brug, was the weak point. The Emperor had the ability to summon the common Brugs around itself and form a giant creature known as a Brug Mass. Samus quickly relayed her newfound intel to her former CO. "Adam, listen! It's a Brug Mass! The eye of the Brug Mass is the weak point, but we need to eliminate its methods of attack first!"

"Listen up!" Adam shouted. "Activate freeze guns and concentrate your fire on the arms! Aran, see what you can do about the frozen spots!"

For a solitary hunter such as herself, Samus felt a strange sense of exhilaration coursing through her veins as she worked in conjunction with Adam and his team to bring down the Brug Mass piece by piece. She hadn't worked with anyone since her Federation Army days, and in that time she had formed the belief that working with others only served to complicate matters and slow her down. Oddly enough, however, she was finding her focus even more precise in working with Adam and his team. Perhaps, she reasoned, the added focus was due to the fact that she sought to protect the two people she cared about most, even though they both could take care of themselves. Or perhaps it was due to her lingering heartbreak over losing the infant Metroid; the urge to protect had, in fact, became rather strong ever since the incident.

As she destroyed the skittering Emperor Brug, she found herself wanting to protect those she cared about most. _I won't lose them too…_

"Status report!" asked Adam as the Brugs quickly dispersed.

"I'm good, but why'd it have to be bugs?" Lyle could be heard saying from across the room.

"All good over here, Commander!" yelled Anthony.

"Affirmative, sir!" shouted Maurice.

"Good to go, sir!" said James.

With his squad accounted for, General Malkovich approached Samus. "Samus," he said calmly, "Good work."

Samus nodded before Adam moved to the center of the room and commenced with his briefing. "As of now, consider this site to be extremely dangerous. Exercise extreme caution as you make your sweeps. Sergeant Smithsonian!" he shouted, and Lyle snapped to attention. "Investigate Sector One - and show a little restraint with the explosives. Secure the safety of any survivors."

Adam turned to the next man in line. "Sergeant First Class Favreau! Investigate the Control Bridge - repair any equipment you come across. Our earlier issues may be the result of electrical interference."

His eyes moved to the next one. "Captain Higgs! Head for Sector Three - Activate the magma eruption port."

And then the next one. "Specialist Pierce! Investigate Sector Two - secure the safety of any survivors you encounter and find out anything you can in relation to what occurred here; the more we know about what we're dealing with, the better I'll be able to plan our next move."

As she listened to his briefing, Samus couldn't help but wonder if Adam was saving the most dangerous, dirtiest objective for her simply because she was Samus Aran and her prior missions were a testament to her determination and precision. _I shouldn't be surprised… it's the only reason I get paid like I do…_

His eyes turned to Samus, "Aran, I'd like you to head for the System Management Room - do everything you can to restore the power to this station. Once you do that, report back to me. I'll give you your next mission then. Any questions?"

Samus gave a slight nod despite her misgivings.

Adam assumed his familiar position of putting his hands behind his back and pacing in front of his men. "And one more thing. Until Samus is able to restore power to this facility, I will have no way of tracking any of you as you execute your missions. What's more, due to the electrical interference, communication with each of you will be next to none existent. Samus, it looks like your comm system is unaffected, however, due to the capabilities of your Power sSuit." He looked back down the line. "SFC. Favreau, it is therefore imperative that you discover and eliminate the source of interference within the station ASAP. Once you are able to restore communications, meet up with SPC. Pierce in Sector Two. Remain frosty as you conduct your sweeps. Dismissed!"

Everyone saluted before quickly filing out of the Control Room to execute their specific mission. Everyone but Samus, who still stood in the middle of the room.

"Any objections, Lady?" Adam asked once his men left the room.

As he uttered the acknowledgment of their trust, Samus felt something she had not felt since her Federation days. Something she had long since learned to bury deep within her subconscious. And in some strange way, she couldn't help but feel both confused and excited by it.

She could only nod and head for the System Management Room.

"Lady." she heard Adam say behind her.

Samus turned to look at him standing in the center of the room.

"Stay safe." The General said simply.

Samus nodded slowly before making her way toward her objective.


	4. Biosphere Discoveries (The Hive)

**Chapter 4: Biosphere Discoveries (The Hive)**

* * *

After making the trek through the desolate Main Sector, Samus was finally able to successfully restore power to the Bottle Ship from within the System Management Room. The two Reo-infested Fly Pods tried to stop her, but Samus's weaponry made the fight decidedly one-sided. Elsewhere within the Bottle Ship, Maurice Favreau had also managed to restore the unit's communication systems, thereby allowing Commander Malkovich to issue new mission objectives to the team as he saw fit. And almost immediately, Samus soon received her next mission objective as she began for the Main Sector: "Samus, head for Sector One; Sgt. Smithsonian went ahead to secure a route to a facility of interest there."

Samus attempted to bite her tongue, but impulse soon got the better of her. "And this involves me how, Adam? When I agreed to this mission, I did so with the understanding that I wouldn't be holding any hands."

Adam replied with a calm rebuke. "No one is asking you to hold anyone's hand, Samus. I simply want you to further investigate the sector."

Adam's comm link was met with brief silence as Samus ran a quick weapons check. It soon came to life with calm acknowledgment, "…All right. I'm on my way. Samus, out."

Elsewhere within the Biosphere, Lyle Smithsonian was investigating a rather expansive room modeled after the Galactic Federation's training grounds on Earth and home to a rather large control tower known as the Biosphere Test Area, when a high pitched scream suddenly filled both the room and the soldier's heart with unease. Lyle promptly drew his rifle and kept his finger up against the trigger as he looked about the room for the source of the blood-curdling noise, ready to open fire if anything so much as moved.

"Who's there?" he called, rifle still trained directly in front of him as he came upon an empty ATV and noticed both the blood and the dead body sitting in the driver's seat, the victim's throat having been torn wide open, it's jugular vein and muscles bitten clean to the bone. Judging by the victim's white lab coat, Lyle assumed yet another researcher had been claimed. Out of respect, Lyle reached into the vehicle and lowered the eyelids of the young scientist before continuing his search for the source of the noise he'd heard only moments before. As he made his way towards the control tower, Lyle suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, feeling as if he were being stalked by an unknown presence; when he turned to look behind himself, however, Lyle found nobody. Just the large, green pasture and soaring cliffs. He kept his rifle poised in front of him while opening a communication channel with Commander Malkovich. "Commander, I've reached the Biosphere Test Area..." he began, making sure to keep his voice low. "I've discovered another casualty...and, something else. I feel like I'm bei-"

* * *

Back in the Main Sector, Samus headed for the Transport Hall and entered the elevator that would take her to Sector One. As the elevator descended, a mindless voice spoke overhead from within the lift. _"This elevator is bound for Sector One. A Level Three security alert has been issued for Sector One. It is advised that persons remain armed and alert to their surroundings at all times..."_

As the elevator came to a stop some moments after the ominous announcement, Samus readied her Power Beam and departed the elevator.

Sector One, code-named the Biosphere, was a lush, tropical environment home to a wide array of dangerous creatures and exotic plant life. Many of its corridors had become overgrown with tree roots and moss. All the creatures she encountered here, however, showed a penchant for aggression, even the ones she had encountered before in Brinstar, on Zebes. The Reos, Kihunters, and Wavers were more violent and aggressive than she'd remembered. Other creatures were less familiar. While in battle with one purple, iguana-like animal who had the ability to cloak itself, she managed to scan it. The system called it a Ghalmanian. As Samus fought her way deeper into the sector, at one point she found herself in battle with a towering, six-legged behemoth resembling a cross between an enormous spider and a tree. Catching her breath, Samus scanned the dried up corpse of the beast. Groganch. "I hope that was the only one. I'd rather not do that again." She muttered, climbing over the husk and continuing still deeper into the sector.

She soon found herself within a large, organic jungle room that split into two different directions; the door to her right was situated on top of a large dirt hill, while the other was straight ahead. Her instincts told her to head up the hill. But her instincts also told her she was also being watched, as an eerie presence soon descended upon the room... She thought she heard the brief sound of bushes rattling behind her.

She quickly spun around on her heel, her Arm Cannon pointed in the direction of the bushes. Nothing was there.

She almost turned back, cursing her paranoia, when a large piece of fruit suddenly appeared from within the overgrowth, followed by a small and fluffy white creature Samus had never encountered before. It humorously began to play with the large piece of fruit, at one point even attempting to balance on it like a ball. Samus lowered her Arm Cannon and watched as the creature amused itself. After a few moments, the creature quickly darted off into the bushes again, leaving Samus to continue on her way.

As she began up the dirt pathway, however, she sensed a sudden strong and malevolent presence. Samus turned around again.

The fluffy white creature. It was just staring at her, completely still. Staring at her with the blackest, most spiteful eyes she'd ever seen in her life. It stared at her as if it remembered her from a past life, and hated her for it. Samus couldn't recall ever seeing the strange creature before. And yet, it looked at her as if it knew her down to her very last detail. Its calculating stare was beginning to make her feel uneasy.

Agitated, Samus fired a few shots of her Power Beam in its direction. And though she wasn't necessarily aiming to kill it, she was relieved to see that she'd succeeded in scaring it off.

"Creepy little shit," she muttered under her breath before continuing up the dirt path to the nearby door.

Inside the next tight corridor, Samus ran down the hall to the end of the room and into the only active door in this area. The map scan inside her visor's HUD noted it as The Breeding Room. Samus felt her heart quicken as she entered the rather small, claustrophobic room. _What exactly are they breeding in here?,_ she thought as her eyes looked around the room. The main room featured a simple holo-screen and some computer terminals. The second room, a cage-like booth of some kind, looked as if something had been raised in it. With everything she'd encountered up to this point, experience quickly told the hunter that it had been something hostile. This fact was made even more clear by the discovery of a human limb jutting out from the bushes in the corner of the booth.

Brushing the fauna aside, Samus discovered the body of yet another scientist. But she immediately noticed a difference in this one in compared to the one encountered earlier. That body had looked like it had been shot to death. This one looked as though something had killed it, then attempted to feast on it; the body's entrails still fresh, pooled out on the stone floor.

"Adam, do you read me? It's Samus."

His voice was calm. "I read you." he said before noting the corpse of the scientist in the bushes. "Another one?"

Samus continued to examine the body up close, her voice sounding unusually distant. "It...looks that way. Ripped apart by something. Whatever happened here, happened recently..."

From his position inside the control booth, Adam kept his eyes on the many small screens in front of him, but paid special attention to the one monitoring the Breeding Room. He'd immediately noticed the way Samus had suddenly froze upon seeing the corpse, having acted in a similar fashion right before the fight with the Brug Mass, and became concerned about the integrity of her mental well-being. "Stay alert, Samus. Let me know if you find anything else, including Sgt. Smithsonian."

Samus paused and her heart skipped. "He hasn't reported back to you yet?" Her eyes scanned the room and landed once more on the pile of slick, bloody entrails.

Adam was still surprisingly calm. But then again, he always was. "Negative. I lost contact with him during his investigation of the Biosphere Test Area. The others are already en route to his last known location. You'd better get going - rendezvous with my men at the Biosphere Test Area."

There was no trace of concern in Adam's voice, but Samus knew deep down he was concerned about Lyle's whereabouts.

Samus nodded. "Roger that. Samus, out."

As she examined the containment booth one last time, a chill seeped into her Power Suit that seemed to go right to the bone. She could sense the presence of a dark and powerful intelligence. Something calculating had killed this worker, and it wouldn't do for Samus to get caught off her guard...

* * *

She kept going until she found herself inside a room her map HUD called the Biological Experiment Floor, a large, organic room with a spiral pathway in the center that seemed to extend forever upwards. Judging by the amount of webbing and vine-like growth, this area of the Biosphere had been abandoned for quite some time. Dangerous Whipvines had begun to nest within the large, decomposing tree affixed to the spiral pathway. As she began her ascent, Samus made quick work of numerous armadillo-like Griptians and numerous Whipvines, and after a long run to the top, Samus found herself confronted with a large hole, limitless in its descent into darkness.

She looked around, but that was the only way forward. Going back was no good, and Adam would think less of her if she failed in her objective. No obstacle would be a valid enough excuse for her former Commanding Officer. Not even a drop into darkness. Taking a deep breath, Samus leapt fearlessly into the abyss.

The descent seemed almost limitless as she felt her stomach drop and breath catch in her throat. Her only thought, her only hope, was that some failed experiment wasn't waiting to swallow her in its maw.

She landed hard on her feet. Though her Power Suit was able to protect her from serious injury in the event of a long fall, Samus still felt the need to take a moment to regain her composure. Her suit's vitals indicated her heart to be beating at 180 BPM, the rhythm thunderous in her chest. Samus closed her eyes and began to breathe deep and slow. After a few minutes, vitals indicated her heartbeat to be back to normal. Afterwards, she began scanning the area. One quick glance showed her that she was in a segment of the Biosphere meant to imitate a subterranean environment, complete with rocks, dirt and stalagmites that stabbed into the cavern air.

In the center of the large, subterranean chamber sat an enormous, purple structure of some kind. Scattered around it were small, larval insects. Zeros. Samus gently stepped throughout the nest she'd stumbled upon, hoping her soft movements wouldn't rouse the creatures - and their nest - into a blood-thirsty frenzy. As she lightly stepped backward toward her only exit, Arm Cannon fixed on the large nest, a sudden blood-curdling screech bellowed from above, instantaneously sending the nest into the very state Samus had tried so hard to avoid.

"Fuck," the Hunter cursed under her breath as the nest began to move from within.

Kihunters, large, airborne insects with the ability to spit large globules of deadly venom at potential prey, surrounded Samus. She'd faced Kihunters before while on Zebes, but not in numbers quite like this. She fired off a couple shots at the nearest insects, scattering some of the throng away from her. But they began to come back in droves, and she knew she'd need a different tactic. She maneuvered a switch inside her Arm Cannon, activating the Diffusion feature of her Power Beam.

This added a spread effect to charged beam shots that made the beam spread out on contact. Using this, Samus was able to destroy the orange wings of many of the Kihunters with a single charged shot, rendering them unable to fly. This took away their major advantage. And after more charged Diffusion shots and an assortment of Chozo-derived close-quarters attacks, Samus was able to eliminate the Kihunter swarm and plan her next method of attack. Drawing a few much-needed breaths, she knew the respite wouldn't last long and would have to act fast if she intended to get out of here alive.

Adam's voice suddenly filled her helmet. "Use of the Diffuse Beam is not authorized, Aran. What do you think you're doing?"

Samus kept her eyes on the large structure in front of her as she strafed about the room with caution. "Oh, you mean besides trying to stay alive, Commander?" she replied with sarcasm.

She never had been very good at following orders. "Fine. I'll allow it. But consider this your only warning." Adam replied. But even he knew there were plenty more warnings where that one had come from. "Stay alert."

The Kihunter propagator had to be within the large nest, and so she readied her missile launcher. But such an attack appeared to be futile, as the nest hadn't received so much as a dent.

Again, Samus cursed under her breath, both at the impenetrable nest and the fact that the Queen Kihunter within had sent in reinforcements. And now dangerous Whipvines had joined in the attack, using their vines and energy blasts to make things all the more difficult. But where were they coming from? Samus quickly glanced up and noticed that the large nest was being supported by four large roots growing from the ceiling, and were being protected by an equal number of Whipvines. "There!" she confirmed aloud before readying her missile launcher once more.

Firing at the roots and the waving Whipvines caused the Kihunters to swarm her, but Samus knew changing her focus momentarily would be worth it. First one root broke free. Then the second and then the third, and all the while, when she could spare the time, Samus was laying the ramming, spitting, insects to waste. With three of the four roots gone, the Kihunter nest was now teetering precariously in the air.

It was a cycle of reinforcements and killing, and more reinforcements, but Samus persisted and destroyed the last root and Whipvine. The Kihunter nest crashed to the dirt floor, where it fell into pieces and exposed the massive Queen Kihunter. The queen was rooted to the nest itself, suggesting the "nest" had merely been a large cocoon. The queen writhed about her domicile, screeching for protection. She could do nothing to defend herself, and neither could her helpless soldiers who fell one by one from Samus's unforgiving, unstopping cannon fire. Arming her missile launcher for what she hoped was the last time, Samus locked the queen in the crosshairs of her Combat Visor and shot at the defenseless insect in rapid succession.

The first missile ruptured its abdomen; the second tore through its tough thoracic cavity; and the third had blown the Queen Kihunter's head clean off. The remaining Kihunters, their queen no more, quickly dispersed their underground hive, leaving Samus amongst a mass of blood, entrails and smoldering remnants of the nest.

After checking her Arm Cannon's system, Samus found the same creature she'd encountered earlier, lapping hungrily at a chunk of Kihunter nest covered in what looked like honey. She knew that some creatures, mostly weaker ones, used the power of bigger, stronger bio-forms to capture prey. But as she watched this small creature devouring the remains of both the queen and her nest, Samus couldn't help but feel as if it had fed off of her power as well. As she began for the exit and left the creature alone, a sudden thought disturbed her:

 _Could this creature have been the source of the savage howl I heard earlier?_


	5. Prometheus

**Chapter 5: "Prometheus"**

* * *

Samus traversed soil-filled chambers modeled after subterranean habitats for what felt like hours, having finally found herself back on the Biosphere main floor, specifically within the Observation Room, a large room simulating an open plain with many rocky cliffs, a small river and a large, beautiful waterfall. But for all its beauty, it was also home to Reos and Sidehoppers. In the corner of the room lay the sleeping mass of a strange and violent creature known as a Dragotix. Taking a moment to use the "concentration" feature of her suit, Samus refilled her missile system before resuming her search for the turbine-shaped Holographic Generator, knowing it would need to be turned off to advance any further.

A quick scan of the area indicated it was located in the far corner of the room atop a weathered rock platform. All that was left was actually reaching the platform. The rooms Grapple Points were inaccessible at her current elevation, and there was no evidence of simply being able to scale the jagged rocks. Samus had encountered many a room such as this in her travels, and if she had learned anything in all her years of bounty hunting, it had to be the art of exploration.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the crafty veteran to figure out that something looked rather... odd about the room's nearby waterfall. The flow looked to be hiding something... as she stood underneath the ceaseless flow of water, which ran in rivulets down her visor. Peering more closely, she discovered a small cave-like opening and headed inside, only to discover a much smaller hole. Through the wonders of Chozo technology, Samus was able to shrink herself into a small ball and roll inside the small tunnel. The tunnel wrapped around the outer edge of the room and came out on top of the large rock platform.

At the Holographic Generator, Samus promptly deactivated the simulated environment and uncovered the area's hidden superstructure. At the same time, however, the sleeping Dragotix suddenly awoke and began to thrash about the room in a frenzy, its twin heads bellowing with thunderous, guttural roars.

Seconds later, there came that savage howl again. The same one she'd heard before the Kihunter battle.

 _Just wait until I get my hands on whatever is making that goddamn noise...,_ Samus thought to herself in mild frustration. It almost seemed like whatever it was was trying to impede her progress further into the sector. But Samus remained calm and promptly engaged the biggest threat in the room - the Dragotix, an odd bipedal creature with two equally strange heads. One of the heads - the larger one on the creature's backside - resembled that of a crocodile, the other - located on the front and supported by a long, thin neck - resembled that of a bird. The Dragotix used its larger maw in conjunction with ramming attacks to try and eat the agile bounty hunter, while the smaller head emitted a dangerous blue flame from its mouth. Samus used her supreme athleticism to her advantage and seamlessly avoided the creature's every attempt at consuming its potential meal. But the Dragotix was soon joined by a trio of large Sidehoppers.

Samus didn't flinch, but knew she was surrounded. Her adrenaline began inching ever upwards as she flung herself headlong into the swarm of creatures.

Fortunately, the simple-minded Sidehoppers were quick to fall before the might of her Arm Cannon; Samus turned her attention to the Dragotix again and promptly scanned it for details on a weak point. The creature's glowing abdomen seemed like a good place to start. As she engaged the violent beast, Samus weakened it with numerous charged shots. Its angry thrashing and relentless attacks soon slowed. Samus knew it was now or never, and locked on to the creature's pulsating abdomen with her missile launcher. The Dragotix' abdomen exploded on impact; the creature stumbled over itself and crashed to the floor in its death throes. Samus expelled a sigh of relief as the beast now lay motionless before her feet.

Wall-jumping up the nearby shaft, Samus soon found herself high above the Observation Room and headed through the nearby door.

* * *

It took time to navigate the passages and corridors, but Samus finally reached the Biosphere Test Area, a large but simple area resembling a vast, grassy plain. Samus found the setting to be oddly familiar, resembling the training grounds of the Federation on planet Earth. In the center of the room was a large building. Surveying the structure from afar, memories of her time with the Federation, of Anthony and... Adam swirled about her consciousness.

And for a brief moment, Samus longed for that day to return as real and vivid as she remembered.

"Adam..." she whispered.

"What is it, Aran?"

Samus felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment behind her visor. What had been meant for her ears only had been heard by him. "…It's nothing, Adam. I was just going to tell you that I reached the rendezvous point."

"Understood, Samus."

Inside the Exam Center within the Biosphere Test Area, Samus made her way to the top floor of the building and immediately became cautious after noticing that the door leading to the Control Room had been broken into. She kept her Arm Cannon raised while slowly making her way through the door. To her surprise, James Pierce was just crawling out from underneath a computer terminal, a nervous expression on his face. "Hey...Samus. Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Have you seen Lyle?" the Intelligence Officer asked casually.

Samus remained silent while she held him under her glare the way a scientist would view a specimen through a microscope.

She was so busy analyzing his mannerisms that she hadn't heard him the first time. "Did you say something?"

The Intelligence Officer repeated himself, a bit calmer now. "Have you seen Lyle?"

Samus shook her head. "No, I haven't. Neither has Commander Malkovich. Communication data suggests this area to be his last known location."

From the same compromised door soon came fellow squad members, Maurice and Anthony. Samus was immediately filled with suspicion. The broken door... Catching James crawling out from the data terminal... Something wasn't right.

"Any sign of Lyle?" asked Pierce to his fellow comrades.

Anthony shrugged, trying to repress a chuckle. "Knowing him, he probably went looking for trouble as an excuse to shoot something."

Maurice, however, couldn't contain his amusement despite his serious nature. "You may be on to something there, Anthony. Or maybe he ran into more Brugs again."

Higgs couldn't contain the smile threatening to curve his mouth. "Good one," he laughed before turning his attention to a straight-faced Samus Aran and patted her on the back of her armor. "C'mon, Princess, not even a little smile? You know how pretty I think it is." His attempt at flattery went ignored by the stoic bounty hunter, and Anthony's tone soon turned serious. "Good to see you in one piece, anyway. Any trouble getting here?"

If he only knew. Samus wasn't one to divulge her exploits, however, and merely shot Anthony a quick glance before replying, "No. I can take care of myself, thanks."

Anthony grinned. It was always like her to give smart-ass answers.

Meanwhile, Maurice had taken control of the damaged computer terminal against the far back wall in the center of the room, his fingers blazing across the large alpha-numeric keypad. He looked to be trying to access some type of data. Perhaps a clue about Lyle's last known whereabouts? His eyebrows furrowed together in deep concentration as his comrades stared at the screen. "Hm, this is no good... The CPU seems to have self-destructed somehow. And the core system has been broken into parts but... I think I may be able to restore it and recover some of the data..."

Anthony gathered the remaining men. "While Maurice is working on recovering the data, I think the rest of us should search the rest of the building. Move out."

While the others went their separate ways within the large facility, Samus branched off from the rest of the group to do her own reconnaissance. Soon, she found herself within a small, circular room with many doors. The distinct - yet faint - sound of an alarm could be heard coming from inside one of the rooms. She approached the door where the sound appeared loudest and pressed the button. Before she had time to move, a cybernetically enhanced creature fell toward her. Pushing it off, Samus got to her feet and looked the lifeless form over.

Very few parts of the creature remained untouched. Nearly all of its body was comprised of crude metal parts. Its large, crab-like talons appeared to be prosthetic. Taking the creatures most recognizable features - the elongated head, insectoid torso, and crab claws - into account, Samus suddenly felt her heart hammer painfully against her ribcage. She'd seen this before, but she'd destroyed that planet; how could the Federation have this creature?

Samus attempted to swallow her fear before opening a channel to Adam. "Adam, are you seeing this? It's a Zebesian, but... it looks like its been cybernetically enhanced. What is the Federation doing with Zebesians?"

Naturally, but still most frustratingly, Adam remained distant. "...Zebesians? ...Continue your investigation. And stay alert, Samus."

Samus felt slight agitation at her former superior's remark. "Stay alert? That's all you can tell me after I just found a cybernetically-enhanced form of a creature that's supposed to be extinct along with its whole planet? This is some serious shit here!" she chided, feeling her anxiety starting to well up inside.

"What would you like me to say, Samus?" Malkovich replied calmly.

Samus clenched her fist as her eyes continued to stare at the cold metal body at her feet. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, that dark presence starting to come over her like a shroud...But Adam was right, what else was he supposed to say? What else could he say?

Suddenly, Maurice could be heard yelling from the Control Room: "I got it!"

Back in the Control Room, Anthony, James, and Samus gathered around Maurice.

Maurice kept a straight face. "It's not much, but I did manage to recover one rather interesting piece of data..."

Samus and the others turned their attention to the terminal screen. He'd found a classified directive of some sort, and began to read it aloud. "This Bottle Ship ("Prometheus") is under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Federation," he read aloud. "In this facility, bio-forms from many different planets will be raised and researched as potential bio-weapons…" He paused, and the others leaned in. "It's signed by the Development Director... Dr. Madeline Bergman."

Despite the revelation, Samus wasn't surprised in the least. Though the Federation was seen as the shining light of the universe, she knew they also weren't above using life-forms for their own selfish reasons. Relying the new information to Adam, Samus and the others awaited the Commander's reply.

His tone was stern. "What's been going on here is illegal as per Federation Protocol LV-426: Under no circumstances shall bio-forms, including Metroids, be used as bio-weapons. Looks like whoever destroyed the CPU mainframe didn't want the Federation's dirty little secret to get out."

Samus didn't bother to press Malkovich further on the issue. She was very well aware of his staunch convictions. Not only was he a strict opponent against the use of using living things as potential bio-weapons, he also believed that life, no matter how it was born into this often cruel universe, should never be tampered with. Knowing this, Aran began to wonder about how he would view her if he discovered that she'd given the baby Metroid to Federation researchers aboard the Ceres Space Colony, knowing full well their ultimate goal was to turn it into a weapon of mass destruction. _But what the hell else could I have done? Raise it as my own?_ she thought, suddenly finding herself concerned with his opinion again.

"Madeline Bergman may still be somewhere in this facility. I want all of you to keep scanning for more intel." Adam commanded over the comm links.

After a more thorough (and lengthy) sweep of the entire building, Samus and the squad encountered several Cyborg Zebesians in the same room Samus had explored moments earlier. "Everyone get back! I've got this!" Samus shouted to the soldiers; Anthony attempted to help his friend, but was quickly shunned from the area by Maurice; the door hissed shut, locking the bounty hunter inside to fight the Zebesians alone.

"Samus!" screamed Higgs as he punched the door with his fist.

"Fall back, Higgs! Let's go!" shouted Maurice as he wrestled to pull the big man away from the door. "That's an order!"

From the command room, Adam watched as five of the reborn Zebesians quickly surrounded Samus. Though he attempted to remain indifferent to the dangerous situation, memories of the incident with his younger brother began to pierce his walls. Though the incident involving Ian was different, Adam didn't doubt that Samus was in a situation just as dangerous. Zebesians were tough, skilled, and calculating creatures on their own, but to take on five of them at once was a task for the ignorant or insane. And the cybernetic enhancements made them even more deadly. Watching them getting the upper hand on Samus, Adam gritted his teeth. What was more important to him? His men, or Samus Aran? For all intents and purposes, Samus was the second most important person in his life, next to Ian. But he also believed in her skills as a warrior. She hadn't let him down in all the years he'd known her, and didn't look like she would start anytime soon.

And yet, Adam felt the need to know if she was all right. "Samus? Samus can you hear me?"

He waited with baited breath while surveying the battle on the small terminal screen.

Samus, leaping, dodging, unrelenting in her cannon fire. Her movement was graceful, yet full of purpose and deep-seated anger. She would not stop until the horrors reborn lay at her feet in crumpled, smoldering masses.

Finally, her impatient, annoyed tone of voice was music to his ears. "I'm kinda in the middle of something, Malkovich. Can't it wait? And what the hell are you waiting for? Get your men out of here!"

For the first time in ages, Adam felt his lips curve into a smile. Alas, it vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Adam wasted no time in giving the command to evacuate the premises. But there would be no coming back if he were to loose her too. "Evacuate the facility immediately. That's an order." he instructed to his men.

Anthony could do nothing but watch one last time as Samus became swarmed by the reborn Zebesians once more. "I got this, Anthony! Get out of here!" Samus yelled through the door. Anthony pressed a hand against the door before promptly evacuating the Exam Center.

After a long battle in which she laid the Cyborg Zebesians to waste, an exhausted Samus exited the room, only to hear several male voices outside:

 _"Look out!"_

 _"That way! It went that way!"_

 _"It's too fast! I can't get a shot off!"_

 _What now?_ Samus wondered, vaguely irritated. She'd just taken on five enhanced Zebesian creatures by herself, only to emerge to this? Running to the window, Samus pressed her hand against the glass in outrage. James, Anthony, and Maurice, firing their weapons in all directions. And a large shadow, wraith-like, evaded their every shot while Reos, Griptains and Ghalmanians diverted their attention away from their master. There was no time to descend the building via the elevator - Samus feared the men would all be dead by the time she arrived to provide cover fire. Taking a few steps back, Samus ran at full speed towards the window and shattered it beneath the force of her stride. Landing outside the building on her feet, Samus promptly provided much-needed back-up as glass shards rained down upon her.

Suddenly, she found herself pinned to the floor by a giant, purple lizard with white fur and wing-like vertebrae on its back. Its barbed, whip-like tail curled behind its back, the galvanized tip poised to strike at Samus with deadly speed and accuracy. The mysterious creature ran its snake-like tongue over its razor sharp teeth, its orange eyes gleaming with relish. Even with the augmented strength of her Power Suit, Samus found it impossible to free herself from the vice grip of the strange creature. The cunning beast had made sure to pin her legs with its back feet and Arm Cannon with one of its front legs. Its tail bobbed from side to side, ready to launch itself at Samus' head.

Moving her head within an inch away from the creatures incoming tail tip, Samus writhed about the creature's grip in attempt to break its clutches. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest as desperation began to set in. After a while, the exhausted bounty hunter was finally able to free her Arm Cannon and jarred the creature from her body via a piercing shot from her Plasma Beam. "Fuck you too!" she growled as the mysterious creature writhed around on its back in pain.

At the same time, the soldiers had finally managed to destroy the various Reos, Griptians and Ghalmanians the creature had summoned. With the mysterious creature injured, it promptly retreated via a shortcut to the Pyrosphere it created by throwing itself at the simulated environment and creating a rather large hole in the wall.

Anthony rushed over to Samus and promptly offered her his hand.

But Samus, in her stubbornness, refused his help and forced herself to sit up under her own power. She took a moment to steady her fast breathing before activating her Power Beam again.

Anthony just laughed and shook his head. "Ice cold, Princess. Ice cold."

Before she could respond, James suddenly interjected from a distance, his voice was filled with urgent alarm. "I found Lyle!"

Judging by the young soldier's tone, Samus gauged the outcome to be bleak. _I knew it was only a matter of time before the big mouth got himself killed_ , she told herself before running to join the others.

Lyle's body looked as if something had ambushed him before feasting on his face. Even more disturbing was the trail of green blood that started at his body and ended at the husk of the fluffy creature Samus had encountered earlier. The same one whose calculating stare had burned a hole through her frigid heart. The molted shell suggested that the creature had transformed into something far more deadly.

Samus quickly remembered the body of the scientist she discovered inside the Breeding Room. Lyle's body resembled it to a tee. But some of his injuries looked different. The various holes through his chest armor in particular intrigued Samus a great deal. And the husk next to his body. Could the same creature really have done all this damage, or was it feeding off the power of something bigger?

Samus mulled it over in silence while Maurice gave Adam a status report. "Sergeant Lyle Smithsonian has been confirmed dead, Commander. Upon our evacuation from the Exam Center, we were ambushed by a large and extremely dangerous bio-form of unknown origin. It was also able to summon other hostile life-forms. Strangely, the creature seemed unusually attracted to hunter Aran, most likely due to perceiving her as the biggest threat. Aran was able to repel the creature using her Plasma Beam, at which point the creature fled. Its whereabouts are unknown. All other members have been accounted for, sir."

Adam paused. When he spoke again, his voice was its usual calm, distant tone, giving no hint about his feelings on Lyle's death. "Understood... Continue with your exploration of Sector Two."

Adam addressed Samus privately. "I'd like you to head to Sector Three, Samus. Should you encounter that beast again, well… I don't have to tell you what to do about it. Should you encounter it again, use of the Plasma Beam is authorized. But ONLY if you encounter it again. No exceptions."

Samus's eyes glared over. She could all but assure Adam that the creature would be properly disposed of - any creature that attacked her like the Mystery Creature had done did not live long after such an attack, as they were usually hunted by her with a vengeance and eventually blown apart by her wrath. She would find the beast if it was the last thing she did.

With ice water flowing through her veins, she calmly replied, "With pleasure, Adam."


	6. Some Like It Hot

**Chapter 6: Some Like it Hot  
**

* * *

Using the large hole the Mystery Creature created, both Samus and Anthony descended into the Sector Three "Pyrosphere" via a long shaft and soon went their separate ways. Almost immediately, Samus noticed a trail of green blood going in the opposite direction Anthony had gone, and began to follow it. As the seasoned mercenary had experienced many a hot and hostile environment, Samus wasted no time in activating her Power Suit's Varia armor, which would prove invaluable in her exploration of the lava-filled sector. Now prepared to face the perils of the sector head-on, Samus continued down the corridor and entered the next area.

Once she refilled her ammo and energy tanks at the nearby Navigation Booth, Samus continued into a long, glass tube corridor. The large, expansive exterior of the chamber was filled with deadly lava and rocky cliffs, the simulated sky an ominous blood red. She recognized most of the creatures found within Sector Three were natives to Planet Zebes' Norfair region.

As she began her trek down the glass corridor, Adam's voice soon filled her helmet: "Samus, be especially careful in this sector. I probably don't have to tell you that the creatures found here are especially violent and aggressive. Proceed with the utmost caution. Use of the Ice Beam has been authorized."

Though she knew he was only looking out for her, Samus couldn't help but rebuke his words of caution with hints of irritation in her voice. "Don't worry about me; worry about your men. Just let me do my job."

As she continued down the corridor, her comm system oddly silent, "Discretion has never gotten me anywhere." Samus mused out loud.

Though she couldn't see his face, Samus could hear Adam's faint amusement. "Regardless. Remember, I still need you around, Lady."

Samus felt her frigid heart warm at his remark. She had never been one to read into things unnecessarily. No expectations, no disappointments, that was her motto. But she couldn't help but feel something odd about his remark... Something dangerous yet powerful. He needed her? Was he merely trying to be funny with that comment? No. Unless he had become a whole different person in the last few years, she never knew Adam Malkovich to be much of a jokester. Even within her presence. He could be more open and approachable, but never funny. However, as much as she wanted to dissect this issue further, Samus knew she still had a mission to do. And the minute she lost focus was the moment she also lost her life.

Continuing her run through the Observation Deck, Samus caught a glimpse of a rather large lava beast poking its head out of the lava lake as it swam through the molten liquid. Suddenly, and with the end of the tunnel drawing near, Samus stopped just shy of the fish-like beast as it thrust itself out of the lava with its large maw wide open in hopes of catching a quick meal - her! All it got, however, was a mouthful of glass and metal from the Observation Deck and disappeared into the sea of lava once more. Samus breath came fast as her adrenaline surged. With her progress compromised, the clever hunter activated her whip-like Grapple Beam and simply traversed the large chasm via Grapple Point and continued into the next room.

In spite of her Varia armor, oppressive heat struck her head-on as she emerged in a large, lava-filled expanse with many rocky platforms and large human-esque lava creatures known as Magdolites. Even within the confines of her suit, Samus could feel beads of perspiration drip down her face. The inside of her visor was starting to fog over with every breath she took.

 _"Maintaining suit lockdown. Dangerous temperatures detected. Life support systems stable,"_ said the suit's mechanical voice. Samus nearly sighed in relief as she felt refreshingly cool air starting to circulate throughout her suit.

Soon Samus found herself within the heart of the Pyrosphere, a large volcano. Within the craterous depths, a gigantic hand of an equally gigantic beast rose out of the lava. Almost immediately she noticed the lava beginning to rise. Samus began her ascent in haste in an attempt to try and outrun the steadily-rising lava pool. To make her climb more difficult, the bounty hunter also had to contend with angry Sidehoppers and their Pyrosphere cousins, the Dessgeega and the reckless swatting attacks of the giant lava monster. Her strong legs carried her as fast as they could over the rocky, uneven terrain and tight upright corridors, all the while as the lava continued to gather momentum. Once at the top of the volcano, Samus caught her breath, but knew there was to be no rest for the weary.

The lava creature known as Goyagma soon surfaced from the lava pool in the center of the volcano, towering over Samus. It appeared dragon-like as its long, serpentine body and clawed tentacles thrashed about the pool in anger. The creature ominously towered over its victim and proceeded to reach for her using its great speed and reach to its advantage. Even with her augmented speed, Samus was unable to dodge the creature's lunging hand, and soon found herself within its powerful grip. As she wriggled about, attempting to break free, Goyagma brought her to within inches of its face, its eyes narrowing. Goyagma then opened its mouth, ready to devour the bounty hunter whole, and Samus immediately saw her one chance to break free; instead of feasting on her, Goyagma soon found itself feasting on an icy blast from her Arm Cannon.

Goyagma released her, and Samus fell hard to the rocky terrain, She forced herself to her feet. Using her scan visor, Samus discovered the creature's weak point as its pulsing neck. With Goyagma's reach and speed however, she knew this would be no easy fight...

* * *

Somewhere within the frozen corridors of Sector Two, Maurice Favreau was busy conducting his investigation for survivors when he suddenly came upon a sub-zero environment in the grips of what he could only assume was a simulated blizzard; he could barely see his own rifle in front of him as he carefully traversed the deep snow banks and rocky mounds.

"SFC. Favreau, I've lost visual. What's your position?" Commander Malkovich asked over the screaming wind.

"I'm making my way towards a point of interest, Commander. It looks to be a large building of some sort." Maurice replied, his rifle still trained in front of him. "Wait! I think I see someone, Commander." he added in haste after noticing what looked to be a human blond woman standing in the middle of the large facility.

"She very could be a survivor and a key witness. Secure her safety immediately." Malkovich replied before his ear piece suddenly fell ominously silent. "SFC. Favreau, do you copy? Repeat, do you copy?"

Adam could hear nothing but the ominous sound of radio static on the other line...

* * *

Scans indicated that Goyagma was dangerously close to death. Even though he had changed his attack patterns mid-way through the battle with Samus Aran, the crafty veteran bounty hunter had managed to avoid his fire attacks and counter with her own array of Ice Beam charged attacks. With no arms left, the desperate Goyagma now had to resort to using his elongated neck as a weapon. Anticipating that the creature would, again, try to knock her into the lava depths, Samus promptly dodged Goyagma's whip-like attack, and quickly jumped on his head, where she clung for dear life. The creature seemed to be able to feel its death was near and began to thrash its neck and head about in an attempt to dislodge Samus. But the stubborn Hunter would not budge, her Arm Cannon - and the bane of its existence - ready to fire a sub-zero blast into its cranium.

Goyagma felt a white-hot surge of pain shoot down its rubbery body, and the last vestiges of life fade away. As the now lifeless creature fell to the depths of its fiery grave, Samus dislodged from the head and jumped to safer ground, watching breathlessly as Goyagma's body - and the lava pool - disappeared. The creature had been the control specimen for the lava pool.

Samus caught her breath as Adam's voice filled her helmet. "Samus, what is your status?"

"Goyagma... has been... terminated. I'm... all right."

"Good work, Samus. Stay alert. There's been a change in your mission. I want you to investigate Sector Two and find out what happened to SFC. Favreau."

 _Not another one…_ Samus thought as an air of foreboding filled her. "How long has it been since his last transmission?" she asked instead.

Adam sounded generally concerned. "Approximately five hours. He was busy investigating the Experiment Floor area of the Cryosphere, where he discovered what we believe to be a survivor, when I suddenly lost contact with him."

Even though she barely knew the Engineer, Samus couldn't help but feel a bit concerned over his sudden disappearance, as well. Suspicion gnawed at her brain. "...Understood. I'll go see what I can find. What about the others?"

"Pierce and Higgs remain online. Report back to me once you find Favreau."

"Roger that. I'm on my way..."

After performing a quick scan of her suit's systems, Samus began her trek towards the Main Sector and Sector Two.


	7. Mysteries of The Cryosphere

**Chapter 7: Mysteries of The Cryosphere**

* * *

As she made her way to the Main Sector Transport Hall, Samus had a foreboding feeling that this "rescue" mission would soon become a salvage mission, that there was something very strange going on within this very station. To find Lyle Smithsonian dead was one thing... but now Maurice Favreau was missing. It was no secret that the creatures being kept within the Bottle Ship were dangerous. But most of them should have been a cinch for a unit led by Adam Malkovich. The men within any squad commanded by Malkovich had always been the best of the best. They had to be if they hoped to serve under his command. Adam would accept nothing more than perfection.

As the elevator into Sector Two descended down the shaft, Samus swallowed hard, hoping poor Maurice had not yet met the same unfortunate fate as his fallen comrade.

The Cryosphere was an arctic environment with many of its corridors and rooms covered by thick ice walls, frozen ponds, and dangerous stalactites. The area was reminiscent of Tallon IV's Phendrana Drifts region. And like Phendrana, Samus remained alert to the area's many deadly predators as she made her way through its snow-logged rooms and slippery corridors.

It wasn't long before Samus came upon a dead and petrified creature known as a Gigafraug in an industrial room. Its body looked as if it had been drained of energy. All that remained was nothing more than a shallow husk. A nameless fear suddenly gripped her heart - this creature looked as if it had been the victim of Metroid predation. But the Metroid species was dead. The Hatchling had been the last of its kind. Besides that, Metroids had a weakness to cold; they wouldn't be able to last five seconds in this environment before they froze to death. Samus pushed the ominous thought into the depths of her mind. _They're dead_ , she told herself. _And the last of them met its end over my own head…_

Samus trekked on until she finally came upon the Cryosphere's Experiment Floor, a large, snow-covered room situated on a cliff. The blowing snow obstructed her vision. Activating her suit's Scan Visor, Samus began to actively search the room for signs of Maurice Favreau.

 _Target Acquired,_ she thought gravely.

It was just as she feared. Maurice was dead. Crouching before his stiff and frozen corpse, Samus concluded that he had been shot through the back, execution-style, his armor having been pierced right below the Galactic Federation symbol on his chest armor. Samus reached out to cup his frost-bitten face; as a sign of respect, she slowly closed his still-open eyes as her voice became a mournful whisper, "You can rest now, Maurice."

Samus got to her feet. "Adam, this is Samus. Do you copy?"

"Go ahead, Samus."

Solemnity entered her controlled voice. "I'm inside the Experiment Floor. I found Maurice. Subject is confirmed dead after further inspection. Cause of death is most likely small arms fire sustained at point blank range; if the shot didn't kill him, it's more than likely hypothermia would have sooner or later. Chest armor has been compromised in the back and chest, suggesting he was killed execution-style... You have my sympathy, Commander Malkovich."

Despite the unexpected - and unfortunate - turn of events, including the deaths of two of his men, Adam's calm and almost emotionless demeanor was reminiscent of the unfortunate incident with Ian. Nothing got through. Nothing got out. "Understood, Samus... Continue your investigation."

To anyone else, he would have seemed almost robotic and unfeeling. But to Samus, who more or less knew the man beneath the gruff exterior, she knew the loss of Maurice and Lyle was damn near eating him up inside. Just like it had when he lost Ian. Losing a soldier was very much like losing a brother. And knowing Adam, Samus figured it would be several years before he grieved for his lost men, as well. That was just the kind of person Adam was. A man bound to the duties and lifestyle of a warrior, with no time for tears or emotion.

Much like herself.

"Samus, proceed with caution." Adam advised after a moment of tense silence.

Almost as soon as he said that, Samus felt a sudden presence. The Mystery Creature, come to ambush her again? She stepped lightly as she readied her Arm Cannon. With her visibility hampered due to the snow, she knew she had to exercise extreme caution, as anyone or anything could use the icy fog to their advantage. To be extra careful, Aran activated her Thermal Visor and continued to tread lightly. The snow crunched underneath her feet. With every step forward, she could identify the dark silhouette of a building overseeing the Experiment Floor.

And... something else. Using her Thermal Visor's magnify feature, Samus spotted a high temperature signature some distance away; upon further inspection with her Scan Visor, Samus identified the heat signature to be a young blond woman, her hands pressed against the window of the building; her expression immediately became one of alarm upon being seen. The mysterious girl fled her point of observation, having likely going deeper into the building.

Samus relayed her sudden discovery. "Adam, I think I've located that survivor Maurice mentioned. She just took off. I'm tracking her as we speak."

"Good. Remember, she's probably very scared, so treat the situation with care. We don't want to lose her."

It was tough breaking through the snow drifts, but Samus finally made it into the structure, which was labeled as the Materials Storehouse. Inside, Samus was only able to catch a glimpse of the frightened young girl as she dashed around the corner into the warehouse. Once in the warehouse, Samus keenly listened for footsteps as she moved through the maze of large steel crates.

"Don't come near me! I know why you're here!" cried the young woman.

Samus kept moving. Her voice remained calm as she called back to the frightened woman. "You don't understand. I'm here to secure your safety."

But their game of cat and mouse only continued further into the massive storage facility. And soon, there was no where left for the scared mouse to run; Samus was able to catch her first real look at the frightened survivor. Straight, long blond hair with a simple beret pinned on one side. A youthful and vibrant face. Ice blue eyes. She was wearing a white lab coat, dark, collared shirt, pink capris and simple pink shoes, hardly appropriate clothing for the chill of the Cryosphere. The scared expression on her face reminded Samus of a frightened child.

Her voice trembled as she backed up, "Y-you're lying! I know the Federation wants to silence everyone who knows about our research here!"

The blond woman ran to a nearby terminal in a last ditch attempt to escape the bounty hunter. Her voice continued to tremble as she pounded the door mechanism, hoping the large door - and her only way out - hadn't frozen shut yet. "Besides, how can you expect me to trust you when your soldiers are willing to kill each other? What makes you any different?"

Samus attempted to reason with the hysterical woman. "Relax. Take a deep breath. I am not affiliated with the Galactic Federation - I'm an independent bounty hunter. I'm here to secure your safety and the safety of any other survivors here. Just relax."

The woman calmed just a little bit. She wasn't trembling anymore, at least. With her body posture relaxing, Samus took the initiative and stepped forward, but was quickly stopped when sudden, bright spotlights appeared on the wall and a loud engine sounded behind her.

Fearing for her own safety, the blond woman took refuge behind Samus as she spun around to confront the sounds of danger, her Arm Cannon pointed straight in front of her. A large steel crate thrust toward Samus and the young woman seemingly on its own; Samus quickly pushed the young girl away from the approaching crate, only to jump out of the way herself immediately afterward. The large steel crate crashed into the frozen door, weakening it.

Samus fixed her attention on her attacker, a large vehicle known as the RB176-Ferrocrusher.

And it was being driven by a person wearing a Galactic Federation Power Suit...


	8. Fire and Ice

**Chapter 8: Fire and Ice  
**

* * *

Samus couldn't believe her eyes. She was being attacked by what looked to be a Galactic Federation soldier. And the fact that she was unable to positively identify him only added to her growing frustration.

The yellow RB176-Ferrocrusher was a heavy-duty vehicle used by the Galactic Federation primarily for industrial situations such as the lifting or moving heavy materials. But as Samus was discovering first-hand, the Ferrocrusher could also turn into a dangerous weapon in the right hands, with its large metal arms, precision laser cutters and giant metal buzz saws used for ripping and tearing.

It also didn't help that a deranged Galactic Federation soldier, hell-bent on killing her, was behind the controls.

"Son of a bitch." Samus cursed under her breath as the metal arms of the vehicle-turned-weapon knocked her to the cold ground. Luckily, the hit had only knocked the wind out of her, but nothing more, her suit's shields having taken most of the impact. Her adrenaline quickly forced her to her feet. The vehicle continued to idle, motionless. It, or the person controlling it rather, almost acted like it was attempting to sense her next action as she trained her Arm Cannon upon it.

 _Got to watch out for those saws. One hit from those and I'll be sliced in half,_ Samus thought to herself as her gaze remained fixed on the lumbering vehicle. _This fucking thing has to have a weak point…_

The engine suddenly roared and lunged the vehicle forward in an attempt to crush Samus against the wall with its twin buzz saws, but thanks to her athleticism, Samus was able to quickly dodge the lumbering yellow transport with ease. The Ferrocrusher instead got itself stuck in the wall thanks to its failed buzz saw attack. With the vehicle stuck and the pilot feverishly trying to escape his present conundrum, Samus quickly scanned the vehicle for a weak point. The vehicle's backside. Thermals indicated that the Ferrocrusher was dangerously close to exploding due to overheating, unbeknownst to the pilot.

Samus quickly readied her missile launcher with a Super Missile, a far more potent variant of her standard missile, and wasted no time in launching her own attack upon the vehicle. Unfortunately, though she did manage to cause damage, the sheer force of the impact also dislodged the Ferrocrusher from the wall; the top half of the vehicle spun around and engaged Samus with its laser-cutting beam and cut a swath of white hot destruction in her wake. The ground around her exploded before the vehicle charged at her once more. Fearless, Samus ran headlong towards the charging mechanical beast and pounced on top of the cockpit with a full charge of her Arm Cannon. The pilot attempted to dislodge her by carelessly ramming into the walls and various steel containers, but Samus remained on the vehicle, only to let loose with her Arm Cannon, narrowly missing the pilot. She did however manage to fry the control system and cause the vehicle to malfunction. Reverse, forward, its metal arms jutting outward and forward, thrashing, knocked Samus off the vehicle and against the steel husk of a nearby container.

 _THWHACK._ Her head was the first to make contact with the container. Her body soon followed. As her vision grew dark and tunneled, Samus's last thought was of her attacker. Who was he? Why was he wearing a Federation Army Power Suit? Why was he attacking _her_?

Her vision soon faded into darkness.

* * *

Sometime later, Samus awoke, her head throbbing and feeling as if it were water-logged. _Feels like a concussion_ , she told herself, grimacing as the lights above pained her. But she could not rest, could not quit. Not now. Not ever. Samus slowly got to her feet, her Varia Suit looking no worse for wear. The battle was over. As Samus stood amongst a mess of wreckage and storage crates, she realized with a bit of irritation that the pilot had caused the Ferrocrusher to malfunction on purpose so as to make his escape; the vehicle had started to malfunction just seconds before she activated her Arm Cannon.

Samus cursed under her breath. Both the stranger and the survivor were nowhere to be found.

"Samus, do you read me?"

Adam. His voice felt almost comforting within the eerie silence.

"I read you." Samus said simply.

He sounded almost relieved. "Good. I couldn't reach you for thirty minutes. What's your status?"

Samus felt her heart warm despite the sub-zero chill in the air. Her voice, however, remained aloof. "I lost the survivor. Whereabouts are unknown. And… there's something else."

Silence on the other line.

"We were attacked by a RB-176 Ferrocrusher being piloted by someone wearing a Galactic Federation Power Suit." Samus explained. Her voice suddenly took on an accusatory tone. "Is there something you're not telling me, Malkovich? Because if there is, you'd better fucking tell me right now!"

Adam sounded generally confused. "What are you insinuating, Lady?"

His flabbergasted response only served to frustrate and anger her more. "Don't play dumb with me, Malkovich! You know exactly what I'm suggesting!" She wished she could see him face to face so she could stare right into those cold steel gray eyes.

Adam attempted to calm Aran's misguided fury. "Samus, just relax. You're angry, and when you get angry, you make assumptions. Listen to me when I say I do not know what you're talking about. Your anger won't allow you to see the truth."

Samus took a deep breath, her paranoia beginning to subside. He always did have a way of soothing her in times of anger or frustration. Guilt, however, quickly replaced it; guilt over thinking that her close friend and confidant would keep such a thing a secret from her, regardless of her status as a hired gun. She sighed. "...I'm sorry Adam."

"Don't worry about it. Listen...I know now probably isn't the best time but, can I ask what's troubling you?"

Samus smiled wryly. If only he knew. "Something strange is going on here, Adam. I realize it now - that battle with the Ferrocrusher merely confirmed my nagging suspicions that there may be a traitor amongst your men. I know it sounds crazy, but I have real reason to believe you and the others might be in serious danger."

With everything that had happened up to this point, Adam couldn't deny that suspicion had been gnawing at the back of his mind ever since Samus confirmed that Maurice had been killed. No. He took that thought back. It had started after he witnessed via security camera the Exam Center within the Biosphere suddenly explode mere moments after his men vacated the premises.

And Maurice? Due to the snowstorm within the Experiment Floor, his visibility had been practically nonexistent when Favreau's comm suddenly went offline.

Adam also found it odd that he also hadn't heard from Anthony in a long while. Or James.

Samus's voice soon knocked him out of his reverie for a change. "Adam, are you all right?"

Adam rested his elbows on the terminal, his hand coming to touch the ear piece on the side of his face. "Yes. Listen carefully. There's no telling where the survivor could have gone - but keep your eyes peeled. The biggest threat to you right now is that purple creature you encountered earlier - the wavelength of its howls are driving other bio-forms within the Pyrosphere into a frenzy. You've got to destroy it before it causes even more trouble in an already dangerous situation. Exercise extreme caution - there's no telling what will happen. Understood?"

"Understood." Samus replied.

Adam's voice filled with a tenderness Samus hadn't heard since that day in his office all those years ago. "And Lady... Stay safe."

* * *

On the way to the Pyrosphere, the mindless, computer-generated voice of a woman soon spoke overhead: _"This elevator is bound for Sector 3. A Level 4 warning is now in effect in Sector 3. An irregularity has been confirmed in the Geothermal Power Plant and the experimental simulated desert area. All staff members are advised to evacuate immediately."_

A Level 4 warning was the second-highest warning able to be issued within a given station. The only one higher was Level 5. Level 5 warnings were usually issued during severe emergencies such as eminent collisions or in the rare case, a station set to self-destruct. Samus came to a shocking realization: With the creatures here having been crafted into killers and running amok, the Bottle Ship was quickly becoming a nightmare replica of the Planet Zebes. And though Adam and his team had came here in hopes of stopping it, they had thus far been unsuccessful. And now, with the knowledge of the Federation's twisted project in their hands, the Federation higher-ups would do anything it took to make sure nobody would make it out of the station alive. So they implemented an assassin within Adam's team to snuff out anyone who found out about the bio-weapon project.

Anthony, James… Adam. Could any one of them really be a traitor?

As the elevator came to a stop, Samus had a sudden revelation. _Lyle had most likely been killed shortly before the rest of the team arrived. But James was the first one to arrive at the Exam Center. I remember him crawling out from underneath that computer terminal and acting suspicious. Then Maurice was found dead. And he was the one who found the bio-weapon project directive - and Anthony seen it as well. Which means…_

"Oh god, Anthony!" she said aloud with a gasp.

Samus suddenly grew fearful for the safety of her good friend Anthony Higgs as she dashed out of the elevator and deep into the Pyrosphere. Anthony was the only one left besides Adam for the Deleter to take down. Her only hope was that she reached him before the Deleter did. There was no doubt in her mind that neither Anthony nor Adam could possibly be a traitor. But the other one, James...she wasn't so sure about. She had grown quite skilled in reading people, their mannerisms, to know when something wasn't right. And James... had been acting rather strangely last time she saw him. As she recalled, he wasn't the Engineer, Maurice was. So just why was he caught underneath that computer terminal? On top of all that, Samus worried that the woman she'd found earlier was also now in danger of termination. Was she the one who sent the distress signal and the one responsible for the bio-weapon project, Madeline Bergman? Either way, Samus knew she had to find her and Anthony before it was too late.

Samus's fear for Anthony Higgs was well-founded, though not in the way she'd thought, thankfully. He was being attacked by the same Rhedogian that attacked her earlier within the Cryosphere at one point. Blue in color, the Rhedogian was a powerful creature with two long retractable arms, a singular eye and extreme maneuverability. Its attacks included the use of its arms, the ability to fire a spray of homing missiles, and emit a powerful - but slow to charge - laser from it's singular red eye. During Samus' last encounter with the Rhedogian on the Materials Transfer Lift inside the Crysophere, the Rhedogian narrowly escaped with its life after Samus failed to kill it before it managed to escape. And now, seeing her best friend being attacked by the same creature she failed to kill, it was hard for her not to be angry at herself.

"Anthony! Hold on!" she screamed as she witnessed the Rhedogian grab Anthony with ease as if he were a child's rag doll. To make matters worse, he was being held above a small magma pool. The creature was taunting her at this point. Samus quickly grappled up to the towering platform and laid her entire weight behind her metal-clad fist and punched the creature in the face; the shock of the impact forced the Rhedogian to stumble briefly on its feet and weaken its grip on Anthony, who immediately began to shoot at his captor with an a Freeze Gun.

The shots bounced off of the Rhedogian's tough carapace with ease. And just like her last encounter with the Rhedogian, Samus was finding it hard to damage the creature as well. It was incredibly agile, using its strong, retractable arms to swiftly dodge the bounty hunter's incoming attacks and swipe at her feet. It was also a creature of surprisingly high intelligence; it had learned from prior experience not to reveal its weakness - its singular red eye - in order to keep itself closed off from Samus' powerful missile attacks. But there was one attack the creature hadn't anticipated, the might of the piercing Plasma Beam. And the charged variant was even worse. Though Samus expected to hear Adam scolding her over the unauthorized use of her Plasma Beam - again - she was pleasantly surprised when nothing of the sort came from him, leading her to believe he'd merely left her tackle the beast in her own way. After it sustained a few charged Plasma Beam shots and missile blasts, the weakened Rhedogian attempted to ram Samus into the lava below one last time before promptly retreating into the lava pit.

Anthony and Samus caught their breath. Higgs raised the visor on his helmet. Even after almost getting killed, he still wore a smile on his face, even if it did look a tad nervous. "Whew. That was intense. I owe you one, Princess."

Samus reverted her Arm Cannon back to the Power Beam. "Are you all right?"

Anthony raised a hand. "Never better, Princess. Say, listen. Have you seen the others?"

For a moment, Samus was hesitant to tell Anthony what had become of Maurice. She knew how compassionate Anthony was. He saw each one of them - Maurice, Lyle, James and Adam - as a brother. One such brother had been lost already and Samus wasn't sure how he would react to the loss of another. She decided to break the news to him gently. "Anthony... Maurice is dead. I... found him inside of Sector Two, frozen to death. He had been shot in the chest at point blank range. I'm so sorry..." She squeezed his armored arm gently.

"...Maurice, too? W-what do you mean he'd been shot? Are you telling me there might be someone else here with us?"

"It's very possible. Especially when you consider that I was just attacked by someone wearing a Galactic Federation Power Suit. I suspect there's a traitor in your unit, Anthony."

Anthony shook his head. His eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought. His fingers stroked at the squared chin of his helmet. "Man, this is crazy. What the hell is going on, right under our noses no less? Have you told the Commander about this?"

His sense of shock and controlled anger were understandable. The fact that someone within their own unit could be going around picking off soldiers one by one was both unbelievable and infuriating.

"Yes. In the meantime, however, he directed me here after increased predator aggression due to the wavelength of the screams of the creature we encountered earlier within the Biosphere. It won't get away this time. Where are you heading?"

Anthony grinned, sensing his friend's killer instinct. With Samus now actively hunting the Mystery Creature, Higgs knew it was only a matter time before the bastard met his maker. "Ice cold, Princess. Ice cold. I'd hate to be on your Shit List. Anyway, the Commander gave us a new directive to move as a unit - what's left of us anyway - to the Geothermal Power Plant to open the magma eruption port. Our rendezvous point was the Navigation Booth near here, but when no one showed up, I figured I'd take a look around. That's when I got attacked by that monster. Now I know why he suggested we move as a unit, what with the traitor and that Mystery Creature running around."

It made perfect sense. Adam knew the remnants of the 7th squad were in serious danger alone, so he directed they move as a unit from now on. The situation on the Bottle Ship had slowly been moving from bad to worse ever since they arrived on the station. At this point in time, things couldn't possibly get much worse. It was three people versus an entire army of vicious creatures. And to come from this mission unscathed would be nothing short of a miracle.

Anthony shifted his weight from one leg to the other and drew his arms close to his chest. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was unsure how his friend would react to such a delicate subject. "...So, Samus...how you feeling about Commander Malkovich?"

Samus immediately drew her emotions in tight. "I'd rather not discuss it right now. And you shouldn't either."

Just by the tone of her voice, Anthony knew he had unintentionally hit a nerve. To smooth things over, he put his hand against one of the round shoulder plates of her Varia Suit, hoping such an act would be enough. "Hey, I deserve that. I'm sorry. Look, just forget it. Forget I said anything. Still friends, Princess?"

Samus relaxed a bit, weakened by Anthony's pearly-white grin. She playfully punched him in the arm then grinned.

Higgs chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, enough chit-chat - I'll go on ahead. I'll see you at the Power Plant."

Samus simply nodded. But as she watched him leave, her thoughts quickly returned to the unintentionally sensitive question he'd asked. How she felt about Commander Malkovich. Unbearable, forbidden thoughts welled up inside her. Thoughts she would much rather kill and bury deep within her subconscious. Though not a day had gone by where she hadn't wondered about him in the years since seeing him last, the trials and tribulations of life or death missions had usually kept her from dwelling on more "trivial" matters such as possible romantic feelings towards her former CO. Ever since reuniting with Adam, however, the feelings she had fought so hard to repress had slowly started to seep to the surface of her heart. Samus shook her head - these matters of the heart could be explored in greater detail after her mission was complete. Until then, as her eyes frosted over with an icy glare, Samus headed deeper into the Pyrosphere.


	9. Satan Laughing Spreads His Wings

**Author's Notes:** Just a quick heads up. This chapter, while not going into any explicit detail, does mention implied rape at one point. Reader discretion advised.

 **Chapter 9: Satan Laughing Spreads His Wings  
**

* * *

After a furious battle with the gigantic lava-faring predator, Vorash within the Blast Furnace Observation room, Samus finally arrived to the room just outside of the rendezvous point, the Geothermal Power Plant. There, Samus made a frightening discovery. The shallow, gray husk of the Mystery Creature, plastered to the wall above the door and split down the middle. It looked as if the creature had molted. Again.

Samus stood, fixated at the creature's husk, as a nameless fear gripped her heart. "Adam, I'm right outside the Geothermal Power Plant. I've managed to locate that creature. It looks… like it molted."

Adam's pause showed that he too felt a tinge of unease. "...Molted? You mean it transformed?"

"It's possible. I'm heading into the Geothermal Power Plant right now. Maybe I'll find more information there."

"Understood. Stay alert."

As if she could do otherwise.

The Geothermal Power Plant was the heart of the Pyrosphere. An "arena" of sorts, it featured a large, circular platform suspended above a seemingly bottomless pit. Samus stepped about the dark room cautiously, her Arm Cannon moving in whatever direction she looked. There was no telling what she would find here. She knew she had to be ready for anything. Suddenly, her heart quickened with the appearance of a small laser sight on her shoulder. She quickly raised her Arm Cannon in the laser sight's direction, but was soon relieved when Anthony appeared from behind the steel pillar.

"Samus, take cover!" he advised.

The fact that he had used her name to convey the seriousness of the situation was reason enough for her to quickly join him behind the pillar. "Anthony, what's going on?"

"Something big is in here with us but I can't tell what - it's too damn dark in here! We have to get some light in here, so I can see that pretty face of yours!"

Even during a time like this, Anthony always knew how to lighten the mood.

Suddenly, Adam's voice filled her helmet. "Samus, you need to hurry and locate the magma-eruption port. A concussive blast should be enough to destroy it and get the magma flowing."

Peeking from behind the steel pillar, Samus quickly activated her Scan Visor and surveyed the walls on the far side of the room for the critical magma-eruption port. "There!" she said aloud, locating the port against the steel wall. Wasting no time, and still maintaining cover, she promptly fired a single Super Missile at the port. The covering exploded upon impact and immediately sent forth an explosive stream of searing-hot magma into the hollowed-out depths of the arena.

And with it, the awakening of the Devil himself, born anew from the fires of Samus Aran's tragic past.

It lingered amongst the shadows above the arena, the bright amber glow of the lava casting its most ominous features - large, dragon-like wings and a barbed serpentine tail, in a soft amber glow as the beast slowly descended from the top of the room, its bright amber eyes filled with malevolent cunning and power. The thunderous sound of its wings flapping echoed about the room. Samus and Anthony left their cover and headed for the middle of the arena in order to get a better view.

Landing before them with a great thud was the mighty space dragon, Ridley. His spiteful eyes narrowed as his mouth contorted into a tight, feral grin.

"What the hell is that?" Anthony gasped. He'd heard about dragons during bedtime stories as a child, but this one looked like it had been ripped straight out of a nightmare.

Samus felt her heart quicken; her stomach twisting on itself; her chest tightening; the breath catching in her throat. _No... It... can't be...!_

What began as apprehension quickly exploded into full-blown hysteria as Samus looked upon her nightmare with wide and fearful eyes. This couldn't be happening - Ridley was dead. She'd watched his body explode into a million pieces during her last mission to Planet Zebes. And because the planet itself exploded, any chances of the Space Pirates reviving their "General" were next to impossible. This was a concrete fact...and yet, Samus could only watch in horror and disbelief as the space dragon gazed upon her with calculating amber eyes and a sadistic expression on his face.

A scream, torn raw and bloody from her throat, filled the room. "This can't be! You're dead! Dead! _I fucking killed you!_ "

"Samus!" Anthony screamed as he attempted to aid his paralyzed comrade. His attempt at shielding her crumpled form was cut off by the dragon and a quick swipe of his barbed tail, which sent him barreling into a nearby pillar.

From the Control Room, Adam could only watch in helpless disbelief as the dragon drew closer to its arch-nemesis. He armor-gloved hand pressed against the small terminal screen. He wished with every fiber of his being that he could reach out and protect her from the devil that threatened to consumer her before his very eyes. But he could do nothing of the sort, not from here anyway. All he could do was offer support. "Samus? Samus, it's Adam. Can you hear me? Respond!"

When she didn't respond, for only the second time in his life Adam felt real, agonizing fear. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked with trepidation. He'd seen this condition before, a past trauma which causes paralyzing fear in an individual upon the activation of a trigger. It was quite common within the ranks of the Federation Military. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Samus herself had been diagnosed with it by Army doctors during her brief service. More disturbing to Adam, however, was the very obvious fact that she hadn't sought any treatment for it since leaving the Army. And Adam knew if he didn't act fast, he would soon lose the last person closest to him. "Samus, It's Adam. I'm right there with you, all right? Focus on my voice. I need you to take a deep breath and activate your Plasma Beam. Focus - you need to focus, Samus!"

With baited breath, the seconds ticked by as Adam watched and waited for signs that he had successfully brought her back from the brink.

"...A-Adam?" She was struggling to breathe. "I'm… in real… trouble here."

He could breathe now, if only for a moment. He provided calm instruction over Ridley's high pitched, angry, screams. "Yes, Samus. It's me. You need to try and focus, understand? You need to push past this and fight!"

Her voice shook uncontrollably as her throat grew tight. "I-I can't... breathe! Ad-"

Suddenly, Adam could do nothing but watch in anger as the vile dragon grasped its arch-rival in its clawed grip and ascended, only to mercilessly scrape her against the walls of the room.

"Samus!" Adam screamed. Anger welled up within him as he pounded his fist into the terminal. He quickly gathered his modified assault rifle, holstered his freeze gun on his hip and prepared to leave the Control Room, when a gun shot suddenly rang out behind him, breaking his ear piece. When he turned to confront his attacker, however, Adam saw nobody. He cursed under his breath. He would no longer be able to communicate with Samus or Anthony. What's more, he wondered who the hell could be brash enough to shoot at him. But that could wait, with Samus being his one and only concern at the moment. Undaunted, Adam continued out of the Control room in haste, en route to the Geothermal Power Plant.

He could only hope that he wasn't too late.

As the Sector Three elevator descended into the Pyrosphere, Adam couldn't relax even for a minute, knowing he was still so far way from the Geothermal Power Plant. The computerized voice overhead only served to increase his anxiety:

 _"Emergency has been detected within the Geothermal Power Plant. All personnel are to evacuate the area immediately."_

Adam quickly checked his meager arsenal. Assault rifle retrofitted with grenade launcher, standard-issue machine gun, and a standard-issue freeze gun. Several clips of ammunition. A few pulse grenades. He was about as ready as he could, or would ever, be given the solitary situation aboard the station. His only hope now was that it would be enough to save Samus from Ridley.

If it wasn't, he sure as hell would die trying...

* * *

Samus had yet to snap out of her trauma. Due to the severe mental trauma she was undergoing, coupled with Ridley's barbaric attacks, Samus had lost the ability to generate her Varia Suit and was growing weaker by the minute, the thin armor of the Zero Suit no match for the dragon's tremendous strength and the oppressive heat of the area.

On the ground, Anthony struggled to bring the agile predator into his Plasma Cannon's targeting reticule. The damn thing was just too agile in the air, and the weapon too slow to charge. What's more, the beast was having its way with its hated arch-rival. He had to hurry and get a shot in before it was too late.

 _Hurry up you damn thing. Hurry up! Hang in there, Princess...,_ he said to himself while keeping sight of the demented beast.

Finally, after agonizing moments of struggling, Higgs managed to obtain a lock on Ridley, his Plasma Gun now fully charged. "Eat this, asshole!" he screamed before pulling the trigger; a wide blast of pure power shot forth from the cannon and managed to barely clip one of Ridley's wings and dislodge Samus from his talons.

Though the drop was large, Samus managed to land, albeit shakily, on her feet. But she immediately collapsed to her knees in exhaustion. "A-Anthony...get out... of here! Ridley is too powerful for you!"

Anthony remained resolute as he drew Ridley's attention away from Samus by waving his hands in the air. "To hell with that! We do this together, Princess! Now snap out of it and let's tear this bitch up! Hey! Hey, over here, Ridley!"

Samus held herself up with her arms. Sweat and blood beaded on her face and dripped down her forehead. Her arms, peppered with lacerations and bruises, trembled. Her heart, thunderous in her chest, felt like it would burst from fear. Her usually lithe body felt heavy and sluggish. Her breathing came fast and labored. She was absolutely terrified. In a brief moment of clarity, however, she reminded herself of something her adoptive "father" Old Bird used to tell her during her daily training sessions:

 _"You must always strive to move forward, never backward. Heed these words, my child, and there shall be nothing you cannot accomplish in this life."_

His words echoed throughout her shaken consciousness until they became a mantra of healing and rejuvenation. As she looked up from the steel platform, watching Anthony tangle with her sworn enemy, it reawakened the warrior within her. With a trembling hand, she wiped the sweat and blood from her face and gritted her teeth. From the deepest point of her soul, Samus summoned every ounce of will within and rose to her feet. Breathing deep, the hunter pushed beyond her terror and summoned her Varia Suit once more.

Wasting no time in showing Ridley the power of her reawakened wrath, Samus shot a barrage of missiles in Ridley's direction while he swiped and clawed at Anthony. The missiles had targeted the dragon's head, torso, and wings respectively and, once connected, tore into the beast' tough outer carapace. Ridley screeched in pain before spinning around to confront his rival with a vengeance.

Samus stood firm with her Arm Cannon fixed on his head. Remembering the Mystery Creature, Samus maneuvered her hand to activate her Plasma Beam and fired a few quick, piercing shots in Ridley's direction. Ridley growled in pain once more as the shots tore bits and pieces of his purple flesh from his body. But it would take a lot more than a few quick shots to fell the resilient beast, however. From behind the green tint of her Combat Visor, Aran's eyes smoldered with the intensity of a thousand thunderstorms once again. Her eyebrows furrowed together in anger. Her cannon hand clenched the trigger with heavy anticipation. And though she was exhausted and terrified, Samus pushed beyond her terror, swallowed her pain and dashed headlong towards the cunning space dragon, only to pounce on his pterodactyl-like beak and fill his gaping mouth with a blistering shot of charged plasma. The searing pain sent him reeling back on the arena platform. Samus jumped from his beak, her Arm Cannon preparing another Plasma Beam shot.

Samus narrowed her eyes as her body turned cold despite the oppressive heat in the room. There was ice water in her veins. She would show him no mercy, just as he had shown her parents no mercy. Her voice tore feral from the depths of her soul. "Your fight is with me, Ridley! We finish this _NOW_!"

Anthony joined Samus at her side. "You okay Princess?"

Samus shot him an icy glare. Her voice was one of calm authority. "No. I need you to stay out of this. This is my fight, understand? Stay behind the pillars where it's safe until I say so. You got that?"

Anthony had known Samus for years, and never had he seen her this angry and intense. Her anger raw and her wrath palpable. She had a look in her eyes that Anthony had never seen before, feral and vengeful in its existence. He watched as Samus clenched her hand into a tight fist as her eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed together.

A simple nod was all Anthony could muster before retreating towards safety.

Saying nothing, Samus charged towards the beast once more, her Arm Cannon charged to capacity, only to slide underneath his legs as he attempted to grab her and fired another charged Plasma Beam shot into his belly. But the hunter wasn't finished - Samus sent a barrage of Super Missiles into his back, knowing he would be unable to evade them due to the still lingering effects of the Plasma Beam shot. The Super Missiles made contact with his body, blowing large, gaping wounds through his wings.

Ridley screeched in malevolent rage as he swiped at Samus with his tail before spinning around to face her. His head began to undulate back and forth as he glared at Samus with burning spite and intelligence. The mercenary strafed slowly around the arena, around her cunning adversary, trying to feel out his next move. He always had been a cunning sort. She watched him intensely, angrily, as his clawed and spindly talons clenched and relaxed in a heated rhythm. His barbed tail bobbed from side to side like a snake, waiting… waiting with the patience and deadly accuracy of a sniper.

"That was quite the vulgar display of power, Hunter." sneered Ridley. "But I will show you true power." The space dragon made a sound that almost sounded like laughing. "...Just like I showed your mother before I killed her!"

Samus gritted her teeth; a roar, raw and bloody and torn from the very depths of her soul threatening to tear from her throat.

Ridley's face contorted into one of spiteful relish. "Though I do enjoy seeing you squirm - and believe me…I do, " his eyes narrowed with sadistic delight. "it's time to end this feeble game and destroy you once and for all!"

Samus watched as Ridley rocketed into the air despite his injuries and summoned a large, all encompassing fireball from his mouth, and spit it into the center of the platform below.

Samus sprung into the air, narrowly avoiding the super-heated blast as it spread outward, engulfing the arena.

Samus landed gracefully despite her injuries. "It's about time you took this seriously, coward. Let's finish this!"

As the battle between sworn enemies raged, Anthony kept a tight surveillance over the arena from behind his hiding spot, knowing the space dragon would take advantage of even a second of distraction. Watching the bounty hunter and the dragon clash, it was hard for the seasoned warrior to not be swept up in the mysticism that was Samus Aran. The way she moved, so full of graceful urgency, the way she was relentless in her pursuit, the way she could be downright brutal to those who triggered her unbridled wrath... She was almost god-like in her existence.

To his surprise, Samus had grappled onto Ridley's head again and was hanging on for dear life as she waited for an opportunity to fill the dragon's insides with plasma once more. After clawing tooth and nail to hang on to his beak long enough for an opening, Samus spotted her only chance and fired a kill shot of plasma and Super Missiles directly between Ridley's blazing citrus-colored eyes. "I'll see you in hell, Ridley!" she screamed before the beast began to stumble over itself before finally crumbling to the platform floor.

Ridley lay there, unmoving, his purple body ravaged and torn by the fury of his arch enemy.

Sensing victory, Anthony ran towards his best friend to congratulate her on a job well done, when Ridley suddenly sprang to his feet and swung his barbed tail at both Samus and Anthony in a last-ditch attempt to exact his revenge on the vile hunter and her friend and send them both plummeting to the lava bed below. Samus was able to dodge Ridley's attack, but was horrified as she watched the whip-like tail connect with the body of Higgs and send him over the platform to the lava below.

"Anthony!" Samus screamed, her blood boiling like the very lava itself. She watched behind vengeful eyes as the cunning beast craned his neck and blew a stream of white-hot fire from his mouth. Again, Samus evaded his attack with ease. She had grown exhausted, both in body, mind and battling the devil incarnate. But just as she was about to deliver the final blow, Ridley used the opportunity to flee the chamber. He would live to fight another day. Exhausted, Samus collapsed to her knees and fell into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

Adam Malkovich arrived soon after to find Samus unconscious and reverted into her Zero Suit, which appeared damaged and drenched with blood. Despite the searing heat, Adam's immediate thought was one of trepidation and anger - he was too late and because of him, he had lost yet another person close to him on account of a directive. But how was he to know that Ridley would be there waiting for her? He attempted to rationalize as he looked over her body as she lie there face down. He immediately became curious at the sight of the pink symbols on her back. They were slowly pulsing. A glimmer of hope filled him. Maybe he hadn't been too late after all… But he had to make sure. He gently pressed his index and middle finger against the jugular vein in her neck and began checking for a pulse. Relief soon washed over him. There was, in fact, a pulse. Considering the area, Adam knew he had to get Samus, and himself for that matter, somewhere safe; flipping her over onto her back, Adam gently cradled her body in his arms and made haste towards the nearby Navigation room.

Once inside, away from the searing heat, he placed her body gently against the wall. All he could do now was wait...

The seconds turned into minutes. In reality, however, what felt like an eternity to him had only been ten minutes. Samus was still unconscious, but her slow and steady breathing suggested she was merely resting. The various lacerations and contusion scattered throughout her body had already begun to scab over, but Adam decided to clean what wounds he could get to on her just to be safe. He pulled from one of the compartments on his utility belt a simple First-Aid kit, popped it open and pulled from it a small roll of gauze, medical tape and some anti-bacterial ointment. He was careful in applying the clear gel to a particularly big laceration on the hunter's bicep that had yet to start healing before covering the wound with the gauze and taping it off. As Adam addressed what visible injuries he could, he thought he saw one of her eyes twitch, consciousness slowly returning. Adam took a knee in front of her, his hand on her shoulder.

"Samus... can you hear my voice?" he asked gently. "It's Adam, Lady."

Samus elicited a few garbled sounds as she slowly awakened.

A slight smile formed on Adam's lips when he saw her open her eyes. "Looks like you're coming around."

Her voice was weak and disoriented. "...Adam...? Where... am I?"

"You're inside the Navigation Booth closest to the Geothermal Power Plant - I brought you here after finding you unconscious there. I addressed what injuries I could while waiting for you to wake up." Adam's facial expression turned into concern. "What happened to Captain Higgs?"

Samus covered her face with her right hand, the mere mention of Anthony's name causing her to feel uncontrollable sadness and anger, as tears welled in her eyes. "Stupid Anthony… why didn't you listen to me?! You fucking idiot!"

"Samus, what happened?" Adam repeated calmly.

Samus tried to conceal her tears. "I told Anthony to stay behind the pillars until I took care of Ridley. I didn't want him to risk his life. I didn't tell him to leave his post after I defeated Ridley - I wanted to be absolutely sure he was dead. But Anthony left his post anyway to congratulate me. And that's when that son of a bitch suddenly lashed out at us with his tail. I evaded the attack, but Anthony wasn't so lucky. If he had listened to me earlier, he'd still be here!"

Adam could only squeeze Samus' shoulder in hopes that the simple gesture provided some comfort to the exhausted and distraught mercenary. He knew just how much Anthony meant to her, to him. And though she was initially frosty towards then 1st Lieutenant Higgs the first time they met, they ultimately became close - like Adam, Higgs grew protective over her, similar to a big brother watching out for his little sister. Next to Adam, Anthony was the only other person to have shared a close relationship with Samus.

With Anthony now gone, all but one of Malkovich's men had been wiped out within the solitary confines of the Bottle Ship in one way or another. And the whereabouts of the only known survivor of the Bottle Ship were still unknown. The fulfillment of the mission now rested on the shoulders of Commander Malkovich and Samus Aran. What's more, the tyrannical beast Ridley, though heavily wounded, was running loose within the ship and most likely plotting his next plan of attack. At this point, he was as much of a threat as the Deleter, who Adam now had a clearer understanding of. It had to be none other than Intelligence Officer, James Pierce. Adam felt the bitter taste of betrayal in his mouth. For the Federation, the only "family" he'd ever known, to implement an assassin into his unit who took the lives of his brothers-in-arms, was downright atrocious. He'd given the Federation everything he had. It was the only life he'd ever known. And now, they wanted to take it all way in order to keep their shady practices a secret.

Regardless of his personal feelings of betrayal, however, Adam knew he still had a mission to complete. And he would complete it, one way or another. As Commander, he issued his next directive. "It's all up to us now, Samus. It's risky, and I say that because I have no way of staying in contact with you, but I think we should split up. I want you to locate the female survivor you encountered earlier. Pierce is more than likely actively targeting her now. It is imperative that you find her and secure her safety. Head to the Bio-Weapon Research Center located within Sector One. That was her last known location. I'll take care of the Rat."

The word he had so vehemently chosen. Rat. In her understanding of Malkovich, Samus knew how he operated. He was a firm believer in trust, and to put his trust into someone meant he respected them. It was not something he just blindly handed out to anyone, however. So to receive Adam Malkovich's trust (and ultimately respect,) was a momentous event for the person determined enough to want it. Should the person break that trust, however, and they were considered dead to him. And James Pierce had committed the ultimate crime as far as Malkovich was concerned. He had betrayed him and killed his men - the penalty for such a crime could be nothing less than death.

"Understood, Adam." her eyes found his as he stood, towering over her.

He courteously extended his hand. "Can you stand?"

Samus brushed his hand away slowly, "Yes."

Now on her feet, Samus could see him better. His gray eyes were calm, his expression stoic, as usual. "...Adam, thank you. I owe you my life."

True to his nature, Adam remained modest. "If you owe anyone, it's the Chozo. I cannot accept such a debt."

Samus scoffed at him. "Damn it, there you go with that modesty again. You know I hate it when you do that."

Adam managed a grin. "Why do you think I do it?"

Samus shook her head and sighed as she drew her arms out in front of her and focused on summoning her Varia Suit. Within seconds, the Chozo armor materialized on her body and bonded to her both inside and out. With her suit now online, Samus stepped on the Navigation platform and refilled her empty Energy Tanks and ammunition before heading for the door.

Adam approached her from behind, assault rifle in hand. "Let's go, Lady."


	10. Revelations

**Chapter 10: Revelations**

* * *

Hidden deep within Sector One was the Bio-weapon Research Center, a Class 5 Restricted Zone accessible only by Bottle Ship personnel. On Samus' first trip through the Biosphere, the door leading to the Bio-weapon Research Center had been sealed. On her second visit to the area, however, Samus found that someone - or something - had managed to access the security clearance needed to open the restricted area.

Samus entered the elevator that would take her further into the research center and performed a quick weapons check and suit analysis. Going through diagnostics for her weapons and suit, she couldn't help but wonder - with some apprehension - what was waiting for her within the Bio-Weapon Research Center. Failed experiments kept in stasis tanks? Free-roaming and violent organisms with a thirst for blood? Or nothing but a bunch of data terminals and documents concerning the researcher's experiments? As the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Samus stepped lightly through the corridor and into the main room of the research center.

A large computer mainframe stood in the center of the dimly-lit room and was surrounded by smaller terminals on either side of the room. Large wall monitors displayed vital information regarding the facilities. On the left hand side of the main computer terminal was a bank of stairs and door leading further into the research center. On the right of it was another room used for storage. Stepping down the staircase, Samus quietly approached the main computer terminal and began to interact with it.

She was greeted to the splash screen of the Galactic Federation, and asked to verify her security clearance, of which she had none. No matter, she thought to herself. It was through the wonders of the advanced software within her suit that she was able to hack into nearly any data terminal she interfaced with, be it Space Pirate or Federation. So it came to be of no surprise to her when the information regarding the key code flashed on the HUD of her visor within a matter of seconds; her fingers danced across the letters E, K, and Y of the alpha-numeric keypad as her heart beat with anticipation. Suddenly, to her complete surprise, both the screen of the terminal and the ones on the walls flashed a red ERROR! Message.

 _What the? An error? Something isn't right…,_ she thought to herself and input the 10-digit key code once more. Another ERROR! message. Her emotions bordered on frustration now. Somebody had been through here already and hacked into the security system and changed the key code to open the left side door, as well access critical information regarding the facility and the station's Sectors. At this point in the mission, what with everything that happened to the other members of the 7th Squad, Samus had a clear understanding of who it could have been. "The Rat," James Pierce. Samus wondered if he was still in this very facility. With her back to the terminal, her Arm Cannon trained in front of her, Samus began a cautious sweep of the immediate area.

Her feet clicked gently against the polished metal floor as she moved throughout the area looking for any sign of Pierce.

The keen observer in her soon noticed a slight discoloring of the polished floor panels next to the staircase leading to the research center entryway. Bringing up her Scan Visor, analysis quickly indicated the faded substance as blood. Not from a creature, but from a human being... Realizing both she and Adam could now very well be in potential danger, Samus opened a channel to Adam's comm system, but quickly remembered he had no way of communicating. She cursed under her breath.

As she crouched against the staircase, Samus was about to stand when she thought she smelled something vile and putrid, like it had been festering for awhile. The smell seemed to be coming from underneath the staircase; Samus could make out the silhouette of something bulky underneath, and reached inside the darkness, well aware that it could be a creature in waiting. Instead, she grasped at what felt like a foot. Gently pulling the foot, and ultimately body, toward her, Samus soon discovered the rancid corpse of the Deleter himself, James Pierce. A large portion of his armor was missing, a large chunk of his neck and shoulder were missing, presumably eaten by a large, predatory beast. The orange visor of his helmet had been crushed, his face stained with blood.

 _His wounds suggest a cooperative assault. But for all I know, he merely could have killed himself, and was later processed by a wandering bio-form._

It was the smell that had told her something was amiss. After experiencing it so many times during her travels, Samus thought she would never be able to get that all-too-familiar smell from her nostrils.

Samus got to her feet when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the blond girl she met earlier within the Cryosphere, standing in the doorway leading to the storage room. Strangely, she appeared to be quite calm and collected, her eyes remaining focused on her unexpected visitor. Stepping from the doorway, the woman slowly approached Samus. Instincts called to Aran to raise her weapon, but the hunter restrained her suspicion and continued to watch the girl slowly approach her.

The girl stood in front of Samus, tilting her head to look up at the towering mercenary. Samus immediately noticed the red blotches on the woman's long white coat and became concerned. "Are you all right?"

The girl's eyes averted from Samus' imposing figure as her mind drifted back to that horrible moment in which she had gone into hiding and feared for her safety. She looked to be on the verge of tears. Her voice trembled. "...I was so scared. I-I had no choice."

Samus placed her hand on the frightened woman's arm, her voice one of compassion. "Don't worry, you're safe now. It's all right. Can you tell me your name? My name is Samus Aran."

The woman's eyes met Samus once more, appearing to be contemplating her choice of responses. Her fear had vanished without a trace; in its place was the straight-faced, emotionless look of an android. "...My name is... Madeline Bergman."

Suddenly it all became clear to Samus: James had wanted to kill the person responsible for directing the project for fear that she may come forward and expose it, therefore putting a black mark on the Federation forever. Somehow, she had managed to defend herself and kill Pierce in the process. _That would explain the blood on her coat,_ Samus concluded. _  
_

"So you're the one in charge of the Bio-Weapon Militarization Project?" Samus asked, her hand coming to rest at her side once more.

The woman simply nodded. Then, she walked over to the main computer terminal and activated the mainframe without so much as a single error message. "...Behind closed doors, the Galactic Federation was trying to create a Special Forces unit composed of bio-weapons. They were attempting to create an organization modeled after the Space Pirates, with the Cyborg Zebesians at the center. But, because of a certain... presence, the other life-forms became ferocious. We were no longer able to control them..."

 _By a certain presence, she must have meant Ridley...,_ Samus confirmed to herself. "So you're the one who sent the distress signal?" Samus asked aloud.

Madeline continued to type and access file upon file of confidential documents. "I had no choice. The lives of myself and everyone else were in real danger here. Who knows what would have happened if the situation were to be left as is..."

Suddenly, Madeline's fingers stopped and she glanced at Samus over her shoulder. "But that's not the worst of it. The Federation had an even more dangerous ambition..."

Her fingers danced across the keypad once more, moving with fevered urgency.

And with the sudden appearance of a splash screen, Samus felt her heart burst with palpable fear.

 ** _Metroid Militarization Project_**  
 ** _[PMW: Project Metroid Warriors]_**  
 ** _Concerning the feasibility of Metroids as military bioweapons._**

Samus gripped the back of the chair and lunged her torso forward in an attempt to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. The words were as clear as day and as ominous as the blood red skies of the Pyrosphere. Samus retracted in anger and disbelief. Using far less dangerous creatures as potential bio-weapons was one thing, but trying to shamelessly turn Metroids into weapons was another thing altogether. It was hypocrisy in its truest form - it was the Federation that had originally contracted her to eliminate the species, and now they wanted to harness the creatures for the sake of military applications? The Federation had become no better than those wretched Space Pirates she had risked life and limb to exterminate!

Samus felt anger tear unbridled from her throat. "What?! But how? The Metroids were terminated along with Planet Zebes!"

 _And the last of their kind, the Hatchling, met its tragic end above my head._

Despite feeling Samus' palpating anger, Madeline stayed reserved. "...You're the one who destroyed the Space Pirates on Planet Zebes, right? According to this report taken shortly after you were found, Metroid DNA was discovered on parts of your suit and collected by Federation scientists while you were unconscious. The Metroids were reproduced from the sample found on your suit. What's more, they are being stored in this very facility..."

Samus could hold her anger back no longer. "Un-fucking believable. How many people must die for the sake of military power?! The Federation has become no better than the fucking Space Pirates! That must also be the same way Ridley was re-created..." The bitter taste of betrayal soon filled her mouth. It would be a cold day in hell before she would ever be able to dislodge the knife from her back. Her anger only surged further with the remembrance of the Science Officer and his snide comments. He had been the one to collect the DNA of Ridley and the Metroids on her suit. Samus clenched her hand into a trembling fist - what she wouldn't give right now to blow his fucking head off.

Madeline remained almost emotionless as she continued to access the databank. "At first no one thought that the creature was Ridley. They didn't think it had potential as a bio-weapon at all. They raised it like a pet, calling it "Little Birdie." Until one day... It attacked one of the researchers and got away. Ridley had played dead and lured the scientist into his cage. What was left... was a horrible sight."

That would explain why the creature had just stared at her with spite the first time they met. The creature affectionately named "Little Birdie" had been none other than Ridley, albeit in his most basic, infantile form. Little Birdie had then transformed into the Mystery Creature Samus was ambushed by within the Biosphere Test Area. It all made perfect sense to her now.

However, there was another issue that still needed clarification. Samus spoke with urgency. She had to know. "In order to control Metroids, the Federation would need the telepathy of Mother Brain... Please tell me you and your team didn't create a Mother Brain clone... Did you?"

Madeline stayed silent for a moment. A moment too long as far as Samus was concerned. Madeline's silence had simply confirmed what Samus dreaded most.

Madeline drew a sigh. "...I'm sorry. I know you're angry, but please listen. I have a lot more to tell you. We developed an AI program that would reproduce Mother Brain's thought processes. We called it 'MB.' MB evolved as it communicated with the Metroids. It appears as though it began to become self-aware... much like the original Mother Brain. It's really quite remarkable..."

Samus turned her back to Madeline and headed for the door. She was much too angry to listen to any more of this nightmare turned reality.

Madeline rose, her hand reaching out to the seething bounty hunter. "Please wait! Please!" she begged.

Samus stopped just shy of the door. Her voice was one of cold intent. "...I could kill you if I wanted to - and I probably should. You're no better than the Space Pirates. And that makes you my enemy. You've got five seconds to tell me where the Metroids and Mother Brain are before I blow that head of yours clean off. Do you understand?"

Madeline was taken aback by the hunter's icy tone and threat of termination. Her voice trembled. "P-please... don't kill me. If I tell you, will you spare my life?"

"Just tell me before I change my mind..."

"They are in an area called Sector Zero. It's a unit that doesn't appear in any of our map data. It's a near perfect replica of Tourian where we raise and propagate Metroids. The entrance to Sector Zero is located within the Cryosphere."

"...Fine. The Federation Army CO in charge of this mission will be here shortly to secure your safety. Consider yourself lucky…"

Madeline took a breath as Samus continued to leave. Something, however, told the enraged Hunter to stay.

"...Does the Commander happen to be... General Adam Malkovich?"

Samus glanced over her shoulder. "What do you know about General Malkovich?"

Samus couldn't see it, but Madeline's eyes soon filled with a calculating glare. "...He is the leader of this operation."

Aran's vision burned red, her every nerve exploding with unrestrained anger as she spun around. The very room itself seemed to tremble before her wrath. "You... liar!" she screamed before firing consecutive power beam shots in Madeline's direction. To her frustration, Samus merely destroyed the main computer terminal in the room; Madeline had sealed herself inside the storage room of the facility.

Amidst a shroud of smoking electrical components, Samus silently left the room. In the corridor, she approached the elevator on the far side and promptly entered.

* * *

Back in Sector One, the elevator doors opened and Samus stepped out into the cold, metal corridor. As luck would have it, she encountered Adam mere moments after stepping from the elevator. Samus tried to compose herself in an attempt to hide the anger and betrayal that burned in her heart. "...I found Madeline Bergman and James inside the research center. James is dead. I found him decomposing underneath the staircase in the center's entryway." Samus confirmed. Despite her best efforts, she could hear traces of anger surfacing in her voice. "What's more, Madeline told me the Federation is attempting to militarize Metroids for use in their Zebesian-inspired special forces unit, which all the creatures here are to be apart of. The idiots also created a clone of Mother Brain." Then, as her voice returned to calm, Samus uttered the question her heart yearned to ask, "Adam... what I'm about to ask you, I want the truth. Are you the leader of the Federation's twisted PMW project?"

Adam stood there clutching his assault rifle. His expression remained rather stoic before his eyebrows furrowed together and his gray eyes grew dark underneath the dim lights of the corridor. "What are you talking about?" he asked calmly.

There was an almost frightening finality within her voice as she shook her head. "I don't have time for games, Adam. I'm on my way to Sector Zero to destroy the Metroids and MB. Just tell me - yes or no?"

Adam's eyes remained clear and focused on her. "No, Samus. The answer is no," he began and took a small step towards her; the grip on his weapon relaxed just a bit. His voice was calm and hinted at nothing. "I received a request from Supreme Chairman Keaton to write a detailed report outlining the potential dangers of implementing such a program into defense forces. In that report, I explained categorically why it should not be attempted. The most important of which was the fact that other systems might take the implementation of such a program to mean the Federation was attempting to attain galaxy-wide omnipotence; the other being the belief that living things should not be used as a weapon. It is a belief held not only by myself, but many others within the Federation. The Chairman listened. But it was soon discovered after the fact that a rogue group within the Federation co-opted my report for its own purposes. That led to the Senate approving the program. In a way, you could say this whole thing was my fault."

Samus unconsciously reached out to him, but resisted at the last moment. "No, Adam. Don't say that. None of this was your fault."

Samus thought she heard him chuckle briefly deep in his throat.

Though she should have felt a sense of closure on this matter, her heart still felt a sense of unease. Of… agony? Yes, agony. As if it were being crushed in a vice. Gazing at Adam she suddenly had an ominous feeling that this would be the last time they would ever be this close again. A knot formed in the depths of her stomach as she started past him. "I have to get going, Adam…"

Adam felt a tinge of concern as his eyebrows furrowed with perturbation again. "The mission isn't over yet, Samus. Where the hell do you think you're going?" He reached out to her. That brash military part of him wanted her to stay to simply be able to fulfill their mission. The other part, that part he had been fighting with for years, wanted her to stay because the thought of her not around scared the shit out of him. She was all he had left and to lose her… he figured he may as well be dead.

Samus spun around on her heal. Her voice suddenly rose in frustration, "Damn it, Adam. I'm going into Sector Zero to put an end to this shit, and there's a good chance I won't be coming out alive! And don't try to stop me!" Samus fixed her Arm Cannon on her former CO.

Adam remained indifferent to her show of force. Instead, he began to walk towards her. "I learned a long time ago that trying to stop you is useless, Lady." He continued to step towards her, and she stepped back, cannon still poised at his head. "I also learned something else." He casually brushed the Arm Cannon aside.

"Damn you…!" In a moment of mental lapse, Samus was unable to maintain her Varia Suit and reverted back to her Zero Suit. Samus found herself against Adam's form in an embrace forged from the fires of fear and long repressed love. And for Adam, it suddenly felt like he was reliving that one, crystallizing moment in his life that had truly made him feel alive and with purpose. Adam drew his arms around her form, his hands coming to rest against the small of her back.

His voice was unusually soft and deep as their eyes found one another. Adam gazed deep into those burning blue-green eyes. "The Chozo were right in selecting you as the guardian of the galaxy - clearly they sensed something within you from the very beginning. It's this power that allows you to defy doubt and reign supreme. So, don't tell me you won't be coming back. And when you do... I'll be waiting, my Lady."

Something followed Adam's speech that Samus had never expected in a centi-cycle - Adam's lips, suddenly brushing against hers, and lingering there for a few, breathless seconds. Samus closed her eyes, unsure of what to make of Adam's still lingering lips as they played across hers in an almost shy manner.

Samus attempted to regain her bearings, the unexpected kiss having left her focus shaken. She could still taste him in her mouth as she cleared her throat. She tried to remain indifferent to what had just happened, but inside, she felt as if her mind would explode. She couldn't let him see how much that kiss had affected her; she wasted no time in activating her Varia Suit, forgetting that she was still in Adam's arms. Luckily, he was quick enough to let go just as the suit began to materialize over her body. As the visor on her suit turned from clear to green, Adam heard her voice filtered through her helmet. "...I wouldn't get too close to me, Adam. Unless you have a death wish..."

Like Samus, it was time for Adam to greet reality once more. "We'll see about that. At any rate, it's imperative that you listen to what I have to tell you. It could be the very thing separating life from death."

"Go on, I'm listening."

Adam had returned to full-on Commander Mode, his stance and voice full of calm authority. "Bergman failed to mention a couple of key pieces of information to you, Samus. The Metroids contained within Sector Zero most likely cannot be frozen. This is understandable - to manufacture defective weapons would be suicide, and the Federation was keenly aware of this. Which is why they aggressively began research on ways to eliminate this mortal weakness to cold. Over time, they managed to eliminate this weakness through genetic manipulation..."

"What?! Why would she leave that out?" Samus cursed under her breath. "That bitch. And how do you know this?"

Adam crossed his arms. "Shortly after the program was implemented, I received a copy of my report. The scientists who co-opted it discussed the feasibility of unfreezable Metroids as military weapons. That's when I brought it to the attention of Chairman Keaton that something was amiss. By that time, however, it was too late. As to why Bergman would leave that out, your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps she anticipated that you would end up trying to destroy them on your own, thereby luring you into a trap. But, who can say?"

Adam gripped his assault rifle tightly. "Samus, I have one last mission for you. While I secure the survivors here, you need to engage the self destruct protocol within Sector Zero - if the sector accumulates too much damage, the self-destruct protocol is automatically activated. You have approximately 60 seconds to escape before the sector detaches from the station and explodes. Any objections, Lady?"

Out of respect and understanding, Samus promptly gave Adam a thumbs down and a snicker before making haste down the long corridor, en route to the Cryosphere and Sector Zero, where her mettle, determination and will to survive would soon be put to the ultimate test.


	11. The Zero Nightmare

**Chapter 11: The Zero Nightmare**

* * *

The tension coursing through her body was palpable, much like the sudden increase in gravity she was experiencing deep within an unexplored portion of the Cryosphere on the way to Sector Zero. She'd gone from being able to move freely throughout the sector, to barely being able to move at all; her body felt excessively weighed down, and it took every ounce of strength she possessed to run even a few steps. As she strained to make her way through the gravity-filled rooms, things only seemed to get worse for the hunter after Dessgeegas and Sidehoppers hoped to impede her progress even further. Normally, they would be little more than child's play to her, but thanks to the intense gravity, even simple things such as evading their leaping attacks had proven to be a difficult task in itself. About the only thing keeping her alive, however, was the fact that they, too, struggled with the increase in gravity, resulting in sluggish movement that Samus used to her advantage.

Samus trudged down a long organic hallway and dodged the Shriekbats that dive bombed her. Eventually the mercenary made it to a cylindrical-shaped room featuring several tiers accessible by chasm or grapple technology. The room, which appeared to be slightly frozen over, contained a large, pronged mechanism of some sort connected to several large cables. The machine hummed gently within the silence of the room. Taking a deep breath, Samus began to wall jump up the nearby shaft; the process was strenuous even for someone of her superior athletic ability, and once at the top of the room, she couldn't help but hunch over in exhaustion as her lungs burned and muscles quivered. As Samus recuperated, however, she noticed something strange hanging from the ceiling. It looked like a mechanized tail of sorts and was covered by thick metal plates. A large device was attached to the end of it. Now fully erect, Samus looked up at the ceiling and noticed the tail and module attached to it were receiving power from large cables suspended from the ceiling.

Suddenly, the cables surged with dangerous electrical currents and the tail began to move! Soon, the cables snapped from the ceiling in a blistering flash of light, and a large, bio-mechanical creature descended from above. As the unidentified creature floated in the middle of the room, Samus promptly scanned it and discovered the mechanical beast was code-named "Nightmare" by Federation scientists. Scans indicated that that the Federation had crafted the beast to be apart of its bio-weapon project. It possessed extraordinary power and the ability to manipulate gravity thanks to the Gravity Manipulator Module attached to its tail. Immediately, the Nightmare opened fire on Aran by way of shooting several white-hot laser beams from the small cannons attached to its arms, one of which burnt clean through the armor plating on her leg as she dodged. Samus followed the evade with a missile blast to the eerie-looking metal "face" of the Nightmare and witnessed the tough facade develop a slight crack.

Furious, the Nightmare hovered just above the circular platform Samus was standing on and spun its body around the room, firing lasers at the hunter as it did so. Samus merely engaged her Screw Attack and effortlessly jumped over the creature's attack. Once more, she followed with another missile blast to the creature's metal facade. _Some weapon this is..._ Samus mused to herself, the competitor within her growing bored. Almost as if the creature had read her thought, it suddenly activated the Gravity Manipulator Module on its tail, and the room suddenly became blurry as the gravity increased ten fold, leaving Samus feeling as though she would break underneath the tremendous strain.

With Samus straining to keep erect under the intense gravity, Nightmare summoned large purple orbs of energy seemingly from out of nowhere and hurled them in Samus's direction, a couple of which managed to connect and take a big chunk out of her energy tanks, dazzing her for a few seconds. The cunning mechanical beast knew it had Samus backed into a corner thanks to its Gravity Manipulator Module, and promptly followed the attack with another slew of laser beams. The Screw Attack was next to useless, thanks to the heavy gravity, and had actually served in putting the hunter in more harm than anything. It was a mistake she quickly learned from, having almost come into contact with the Nightmare's laser attacks. It was during this moment of awareness that she remembered the gravity feature installed within her suit, and quickly activated it while the Nightmare simply hovered about the room; in an instant, the orange portions of her suit turned a brilliant shade of purple, and the lighted green accents within her round shoulder paldrons turned to a subtle blue. With the Gravity Suit now active, Samus felt as light and agile as if the heavy gravity had never existed.

However, there was still the issue of having to find a way to deactivate the Nightmare's gravity module - it seemed to pull both beam shots and missiles into the vacuum it created, rendering the bounty hunter nearly defenseless. But the crafty veteran soon hatched a plan. With the help of her newly activated Gravity Suit, she used the circular shape of the room to her advantage and dropped to the base of the room; Samus moved into a run around the room until the boost backpack of her suit activated and sent her into supersonic speed. With her Speed Booster activated, Samus briefly crouched to maintain the charge and then moved into the center of the room - or as close as she could get to it - and shot herself as if out of a cannon up into the air towards the Nightmare and its gravity module. Like a human battering ram, Samus corkscrewed into the gravity module and shattered it into pieces, causing the gravity within the room to return to normal.

With the Nightmare now unable to manipulate gravity, it now relied on its standard laser cannon fire and energy spheres, but included a new attack into its somewhat limited repertoire, a crude, but effective ramming attack. None of this, however, phased the female bounty hunter, who was more or less a one-woman-army at this point in her mission. This behemoth was just like the others she had laid to waste. Dangerous, but simple-minded. And it, too, would soon fall before her might. It was almost poetic in a way, what with the Federation believing they were creating the ultimate special forces unit only to have them fall before the might of the woman they had betrayed. It was irony in its truest form.

And after a lengthy, and mostly one-sided, battle, Samus watched as the Nightmare, in its dying breaths, malfunctioned and crashed to the bottom of the room, its slimy green face horribly mutated and twisted beyond recognition. But there was no time for the exhausted warrior to rest, for the real battle was only a little further ahead, within the hellish cyber underworld that was Sector Zero.

* * *

She stopped at the Navigation Booth to refill her energy tanks and weapon systems, then continued on until she came upon a wide, darkened hall. The lights within the hall activated as she moved, revealing the cold steel interior before her and the door to her destiny at the end of the room. In the next corridor, the lights activated once more, bathing the room in a soft blue glow that reflected off of more steel walls. This corridor seemed to go on for miles and felt nearly limitless to Samus. And the small, climbable barriers she traversed on her way down suggested that the sector was set to break off into pieces should some catastrophe occur. Finally, as her lungs burned and expanded rapidly, Samus felt her heartbeat increase, knowing full well what was on the other side of the door. A sickly feeling of dread filled her.

As she began to move, however, the floor suddenly jolted. "What the...?" Samus remarked as she looked around. Was the ship moving?

The dimly-lit metal cathedral was adorned with upside-down U-shaped archways whose pillars emitted a dark blue glow. On the far end of the room was the imposing entrance to Sector Zero, adorned with five large, horizontal tubes on either side attached to the walls at an angle. The tubes suggested the presence of a tightly secured airlock. As the bounty hunter continued down the long hall towards the entrance to Sector Zero, she soon found herself face-to-face with another infant Metroid, and memories of the one who had hatched, and died, before her very eyes. The tiny predator floated around her, its cries echoing through the long hall.

"A Hatchling..." Samus gasped.

The baby Metroid continued to float around her. Conflict soon reared itself within Samus' fragile psyche - she was still trying to get over the loss of her first "child" and her fateful confrontation with Ridley - it was just a baby, regardless of how dangerous it had the potential to become. And ice cold bounty hunter or not, Samus had made it a personal rule of hers to never harm an infant of any species no matter how dangerous it was. As she watched the creature float around her, its cries began to pull at her heartstrings once more. And no amount of repression could stop her maternal instincts from surfacing; she slowly raised her hand so that it was parallel to her chest and outstretched it. The Metroid larva began to float in a tight circle around her hand, its cries beginning to cease.

"You're safe now, little one..." Samus whispered.

As soon as the words left her mouth, however, the infant Metroid, true to its hard-wired behavior as an apex predator, suddenly turned on Samus and attempted to latch itself to her body in order to begin the energy siphoning process.

Before she had time to react, Samus quickly found her focus shattered as something arctic struck her from behind, instantly severing her link to her Gravity Suit and turning her vision dark and tunneled. As she fumbled, dazed, towards the floating parasite, Samus witnessed the creature suddenly turn into a block of ice and fall to the steel floor, where it exploded into pieces, before she drifted aimlessly into unconsciousness...


	12. Turning Tables

**Chapter 12: Turning Tables**

* * *

Samus Aran awoke some time later, dazed, weak, and wearing nothing more than her Zero Suit. Through bleary eyes, she was barely able to identify that she was still outside of Sector Zero's Main Airlock.

And the familiar face staring stoically back at her, his gray eyes piercing the very depths of her soul.

"...Adam?"

The General nodded slowly.

Had she not been feeling quite so weak and sluggish, Samus would have belted him then and there for pulling such a stunt. But she was much too groggy to think straight, much less strike her friend and former mentor. "...Why?" she asked instead, exhausted.

Adam took her in one last time before gripping his assault rifle and coming to his feet. He offered her a hand, but in typical Samus Aran fashion, the hunter denied his offering and managed to stand on her own two feet. "Why?" she asked again, making sure to put more force behind her voice.

The Commander turned his back to her before holding his rifle close to his chest. "...I had no choice. I couldn't afford to lose you like I did Ian."

Samus's anger quickly flared despite her weakened state. "Oh, don't give me that bullshit. I know why you did it – and there's no way in hell I'm going to let you do it!" she rebuked, still unstable on her feet. "I-"

Adam reached out to break her fall. His gray eyes took on an almost ethereal sparkle as they locked with hers. "I know, Lady. And I have no doubt you'd be able to put this nightmare to rest. You've proven that to me time and time again over the years. But it's not your time, not today," he told her before allowing her to stand on her own two feet once more.

Samus shook her head of the cobwebs, yet still felt as if she were in the middle of a nightmare turned reality. She clutched at his armored forearms, eyes smoldering with heartache and anger. "Stop talking like this is goodbye! I won't let you throw your life away for nothing, especially me, goddamn it!"

Something akin to a half-smile graced his rough features then, his arms finding their way around her waist. "Samus. Unlike you, I'm no galactic savior. I'm merely human. But I can save you..."

Samus reached out in an attempt to grab Adam's arm as he turned his back, forcing him to face her once more. Her blue-green eyes were smoldering with anger, frustration and pain. "If you believed in me, you'd let me be the one to go into Sector Zero!"

"I told you, I'm not going to lose you like I lost Ian."

Samus' voice suddenly rose to an almost feral growl. "I'M NOT IAN!"

The room suddenly fell into a deep, heavy silence as they stared each other down before the doors to the Main Airlock.

Eventually, Samus was able to speak once more, far more calmer now. "This doesn't have to be a repeat of the Lusitania. There was nothing more you could have done back then, Adam. Killing yourself won't bring him back, nor will it get rid of whatever lies beyond that door. The Federation will just create more cold-resistant Metroids and more copies of Mother – and by killing yourself, you'll merely be eliminating one more obstacle in their quest for power – yourself. Surely you understand this."

Adam looked at her with that same stoic look on his face. "Yes. I know, Lady. But there's no other way. It's either me or you, and in the grand scheme of things, you are far more vital to the safety of the galaxy than I am."

Samus reached to cup his face in her hands and pulled him close. "If that's the case, then I'm going with you. I'm not going to let you die alone. And I know if it were me going in there instead, you'd want to do the same thing. Because I know you, Adam Malkovich. I know you like no other. Because you and I...we're one in the same."

"Lady..." Adam whispered deeply. "Please..."

The mercenary's eyes suddenly glazed over with determination. "I'm not asking to go with you, Adam. I'm telling you." she interjected firmly.

Looking at her, Adam suddenly realized just how right she'd been in her assumption. They really were one in the same. Two terribly stubborn, determined individuals who would stop at nothing until their missions were completed. For a moment, Adam remembered the Lusitania incident, and how insistent Samus had been in being the one to rescue Ian, that same fiery, determined look in her eyes then as she had now. True, she wasn't a kid anymore, though she'd always been able to handle herself in combat. But she was still his best friend, and the thought of something happening to her terrified him despite her unprecedented ability to defy what all others assumed to be certain death and reign supreme.

But this was different...wasn't it? The Metroids beyond couldn't be killed in the fail-safe way, having had their weakness to cold eliminated through genetic manipulation. The creatures were known to be incredibly durable and resilient to most weaponry as it was, but now, with Federation scientists having eliminated their one mortal weakness, the odds of either Adam, Samus, or both, coming from this ordeal alive were dastardly low. It would take nothing short of a miracle for them to survive this.

But it was still a chance nevertheless.

And that was enough for them.

"...There isn't much time. We'd better get started." Adam said finally before clutching his rifle.

Samus gave a slow nod before moving to activate her Gravity Suit...

Only to suddenly thrust her fist into the General's gut, sending him crumbling to the floor and gasping briefly before surrendering his rifle to the floor and falling into unconsciousness. Samus merely stared at him lying there face down for a moment before flipping him over onto his back and taking a knee, only to run a quick scan of his vitals; luckily, she hadn't been at one-hundred percent when she struck him, but she'd made sure to put enough strength behind the punch to knock him out, enough that the blow had created a considerable dent in the stomach portion of Adam's combat armor. Body scans indicated, at the most, a couple of fractured ribs and grade two – of four - abdominal contusions. But he would, eventually, regain consciousness.

So long as it was after Samus had managed to complete her objective deep within Sector Zero.

"Forgive me, Adam...but it looks like you will be waiting for me, after all." she said softly behind the synthesized voice of her helmet before coming to her feet once more. "No objections, right?" she added with a soft grin before glaring directly in front of her at the sector's Main Airlock.

The doors to the Sector Zero Main Airlock whooshed open as Samus approached, only to close behind her. Without so much as a second look behind her, she soon vanished into the bright lights, her expression hinting at nothing, the fear, the pain, the horrors that awaited her beyond the door.

" _If there's anyone capable of ending this nightmare, it's you."_

Adam's words burned themselves on her mind as Samus made her way into the nightmare gauntlet known as Sector Zero. Unlike most of the people she worked with during her Federation days, never once had Adam expressed any doubt in her skills as a warrior, or in her uncanny ability to push herself beyond her limits and overcome any obstacle. It was this unshakable belief in her as a human being and a fierce warrior that allowed him to task her with the most critical missions - he knew Aran was the only one capable of defying such unbelievable odds.

And she would defy those odds yet again, one way or another, even as those last glimmers of hope faded before her very eyes. Because that's who she was, and had always been - a survivor fighting for the greater good of the galaxy. She would end this nightmare turned reality. She would return from this trip through hell and infinite darkness – just her latest of many – and reign supreme once more. But most of all, she would return to her proverbial rock, the one person who kept her grounded within this often tumultuous and ever-changing universe, the one person who had truly made her feel like more than just a weapon and awakened that long-dormant human being within her.

Her Adam Malkovich.

* * *

The tension within the sector was heavy like the air. Glass stasis tanks, filled with unfreezable Metroids, lined the sides of the walls; one look at the creatures and Samus immediately noticed a difference between them and the ones she was used to seeing. The nuclei of this variant was spiked and purple as opposed to the standard red, raspberry nuclei, and the creature's gelatinous body was a pale blue instead of green. Computer terminals lined the center of the first room and displayed the status of every Metroid within the sector. According to the data, only a few of the creatures were still in their most basic, larval stage. All others were currently within their mature adult stages, which meant they posed the greatest threat to Samus; she would attempt to eliminate these last, knowing they were much stronger and more aggressive than the infants. For now, she took aim at the helpless infants floating within their stasis-tanks and opened fire with bursts of charged Plasma Beam shots from her Arm Cannon, piercing and killing them on impact.

Sensing their kin in danger, however, the adults suddenly broke free of their tanks and swarmed the bounty hunter faster than she could get shots off. Samus was forced into a constant strafe around the room, leaping and dodging the Metroids as they lunged and attempted to ram her into submission. Charged Plasma Beam shots only managed to briefly stun the creatures before they recovered and began to swarm their target once more. To make matters worse for the mercenary, Rinkas, halo-like rings of energy, soon joined the fight, coming from the walls and ceilings of the room, their sights locked on Samus. She quickly destroyed them with missiles before focusing her attention back on the Metroids. one of which attached itself to her armor and began siphoning her energy; quickly, Samus formed into her Morph Ball and jettisoned a bomb, the blast enough to dislodge the creature and momentarily stun it before coming from her Morph Ball and opening fire on more Rinkas.

Another Metroid attached itself to the hunter's forearm armor, having caught her off guard. Her tanks began draining at an alarming rate before she managed to dislodge the creature again. Samus grimaced in pain behind her visor, the Metroid having pierced her armor with its razor sharp pincers. The mercenary, however, relegated the excruciating pain to the back of her mind, too keyed up on adrenaline to pay any attention to her injury as she moved from room to room, killing off as many of the larval predators as she could while causing as much collateral damage as possible before her progress through the sector was cut short by a locked door surrounded by large, thick pipes similar in design to those found in the sector's Main Airlock. MB was on the other side of that door, that much Samus was sure of, pulling the strings of every Zebesian and Metroid – perhaps every creature itself - in the station. With several angry Sector Zero Metroids circling her and Rinkas coming from the walls at regular intervals, Samus clenched her jaw and lunged at the swarm, only to jump into the air and assume her Morph Ball form and drop a Power Bomb, hoping it would be enough to activate the self-destruct protocol and put an end to the Metroids and MB, once and for all.

The immediate area was quickly enveloped in a white hot dome of blinding light and energy before expanding into an all encompassing swath of destruction just as Samus, still in ball form, rolled as fast as she could towards the door she'd originally came through. The hunter came promptly from the compact sphere just as the Metroids attempted to flee the blast radius, only to become vaporized by the sheer intensity of the blast.

What remained of the room was nothing more than a husk of twisted metal and broken glass. The sickening stench of burning Metroids hung in the air like a thick shroud. The blast had been enough to disintegrate the Metroid swarm and had clearly done quite a bit of damage to the room and the sector itself, but Samus was unsure if it had been enough to activate the sector's self-destruct protocol...until the ground suddenly started to tremble beneath her feet and siren-like red lights bathed the room in an ominous, blood red light.

Samus felt her heart resume its thunderous pumping as the voice of the vessel's announcer suddenly came to life overhead.

" _Emergency detected within Sector Zero. Self destruct protocol activated. Beginning_ _detachment sequence…_ "

Samus knew that was her cue to make haste for safer ground and immediately ran as fast as her strong legs could carry her, muscles and chest pumping with feverish intensity, lungs burning in an attempt to keep her moving through the twisted remains and steel corridors. Coming from the sector, Samus rushed headlong through the Main Airlock, Adam still unconscious on the floor; despite the excruciating pain radiating throughout her left arm, Samus dug deep to hoist the General over her shoulder before continuing her run from the doomed sector.

" _...Forty-five seconds to reach minimum safe distance. Disengaging unit..._ "

Beginning up the spiral corridor, Samus was unable to activate her Speed Booster due to the small metal barriers that blocked her progress. Suddenly, Super Zebesians, a more powerful variant of Cyborg Zebesian she'd encountered before, came at her from ahead and behind and began to fire potent wave beam shots at her. And to make her escape even more difficult, the entrance to Sector Zero began to break off piece by piece as the countdown to its detachment and subsequent explosion neared its end. There was no more than half a minute remaining, and Samus knew she had to keep pushing if both she and Adam were to make it out of here alive.

" _...Twenty-five seconds until detachment. Please evacuate the sector immediately..._ "

She continued up the spiral corridor ignoring as many of the Super Zebesians as she was able, making sure to shield Adam as she carried him while engaging the Super Zebesians foolish enough to stand in her way, as the pieces continued to break beneath her feet and threaten to send her and the unconscious General hurdling into the vacuum of outer space. She could nearly see the end at this point, even as the environment fell into disorder around her. _Just a little more,_ Samus told herself, her chest heaving and legs furiously pumping.

" _...10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..._ " the mindless voice announced.

Her heart thumped in her throat. With every last second fading away just like the floor beneath her feet, Samus could only think about Adam and how it was he who kept her going whenever she felt she could go on any longer. It was Adam who reawakened the warrior within her and gave her strength through everlasting support. It was he who had reawakened long-dormant feelings within her. It was Adam who had always seen her not as a weapon, but as a human being. Had treated her with dignity and respect, had showed her compassion and guidance. As the last seconds ticked by and the door to safety was within her immediate vision, Samus lunged toward the door just as the final seconds elapsed and the sector began its detachment and self-destruction.

 _"Warning… Disengaging unit.. Warning… Disengaging unit.."_

Moments later, the sound of an ominous explosion could be heard outside the station...


	13. Prelude To Finality

**Chapter 13: Prelude To Finality (Room MW)**

* * *

Samus lay on the cold steel floor on the verge of absolute exhaustion. Her lungs felt as though they couldn't get enough air. Her muscles burned and throbbed beneath her armor. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She shut her eyes and gulped hungrily for air. But she couldn't rest, not until she saw for certain Adam was gazing upon her with his own eyes. Turning the General over onto his back, Samus promptly checked his neck for a pulse and felt her heart calm just a tad once her armored fingers were able to register a subtle pulse. _That's good_ , she told herself before performing another scan of his body. Thankfully, there had been no worsening of his injuries in the time that Samus had been gone.

As much as she would have liked to leave him alone to wake up himself, however, they still had a mission to complete, so Samus gently roused him awake. "Adam. Adam, wake up!"

The hunter became encouraged upon hearing him mumble something incoherently. "That's it. Get up, Adam!"

More garbled sounds, except now he was slowly shaking his head from side to side while mumbling.

Samus continued to rouse his consciousness, placing her arms against his shoulders and issuing words of encouragement until the General finally opened his eyes, dazed and confused, sore, but nonetheless alive. "...Lady..." he croaked, his lips and throat parched. His normally stoic expression quickly turned into a grimace of pain as Samus attempted to help him slowly sit upright. He felt like he'd just got hit by a truck; his head hurt, it pained him to breathe, and his abdominal muscles felt tender and pulsed with a dull ache as if they were bruised.

Adam briefly glanced down at his armor, noticing the large dent that had been made was where he assumed his abdominal cavity to be, and quickly put two and two together despite his haze. "...I guess we are more alike than we realize." he coughed before a subtle grin curved one corner of his mouth and a dry chuckle escaped him. His steel gray eyes found Samus once more. "Touche, my Lady."

Samus felt herself smile behind her helmet visor, both relieved that he was alive and seemed to be in good spirits despite his injuries and the fact that Samus had willingly caused them. As much as she would have liked to bring him into her arms then, the hunter knew their reunion would have to wait in favor of far more pressing matters, namely completing their mission aboard this god-forsaken rust bucket and getting out of here alive. "Right, Adam. Whatever that means." she chuckled. "I'll apologize properly once we're off this station. Can you stand?"

Adam nodded. It wasn't the first time he'd been injured during combat. More concerning to him was the large hole in the left forearm of Aran's armor. "Your arm, Samus. What happened?"

Samus glanced down at the large hole. "Metroid just got lucky." she said simply as if it were no big deal. "I'll live."

"Will you at least let me take a look?" he asked, unable to quell his concerns and knowing she would likely protest his offer.

But Samus sighed in defeat. In truth, she was grateful for his concern and had always found it rather endearing, even if it did make her feel a bit uncomfortable. "Oh, all right. If it will make you feel better. But make it quick." she replied before reverting to her Zero Suit.

Adam gently took her forearm in his hand, noticing immediately the rather large, gaping wound on her forearm and promptly fetched what little was left of his First-Aid kit from his utility belt; after cleaning, packing and bandaging the wound, Samus again activated her Varia Suit. "Well, I'm ready when you are, Adam."

He calmly regarded her in silence as they stood there in the long corridor, marveling in his mind over the fact that she had yet again somehow defied the odds and did the impossible once again by eliminating Sector Zero, its Metroids, MB, and somehow save his life in the process. She truly was without par in the universe, his words unable to express how truly proud of her he really was, not only in this moment, but for as long as he lived. She really did never cease to amaze him. "Understood. We need to get back to Operations and figure out whether or not Madeline Bergman is still alive, and if she is, where she may be hiding. With Ridley's whereabouts unclear, it's very possible she could still be in danger. Once we find out Madeline's status, we'll go from there. Any objections, Lady?"

Samus shook her head in acknowledgment before resting her hand atop her Arm Cannon. "Lead the way."

After a lengthy and at times tumultuous trek back through the Cryosphere, the pair had finally reached the vessel's Main Sector once more via the Main Elevator and made haste for the Control Room where this nightmare had begun hours, or even days, ago – neither of them were quite sure at this point - with the discovery of the lab worker's corpse and subsequent showdown with the Brug Mass. This time through the Main Sector however, it was just the two of them, the General and the mercenary, the last hope against the Galactic Federation's twisted plot; though Samus had successfully destroyed Sector Zero and its abominations, both she and Adam knew they weren't out of the woods yet and wouldn't be until this station, its experiments – and themselves, if necessary – were all but wiped out from the universe.

Inside the Control Room, Samus promptly hacked into the database terminal that had formerly been Adam's post prior to the bounty hunter's fight with Ridley, and discovered, much to her anger and frustration, that the ship was on a collision course with Federation Headquarters. She hadn't been imagine things when she'd felt the floor jerk beneath her earlier. But why?

"Adam! This vessel is set to intercept Federation Headquarters – but what the hell for, and how?!" Samus asked. "If it's true what Madeline said, MB controls this whole station in a way similar to the Aurora Units...but the AI was supposed to be in Sector Zero... So how can this be if Sector Zero exploded?" she added with urgency.

Adam quietly pondered the sudden unease Samus's concern had piqued within his mind. "We can dissect this later. Right now, we need to divert the ship off its intercept course somehow, as well as secure Madeline's safety. See if you can find her last known coordinates, Samus. Quickly."

Samus discovered the results within mere moments. "Room MW, somewhere within the Bioweapon Research Center. According to this, it's a Class 5 Restricted Area. Her exact location is unknown."

"It will have to do," Adam remarked before slipping his helmet back on and standing at attention. His voice, though calm, was full of strict authority. "Samus, listen to me carefully. It's clear that this is the start of an attack by MB against the Federation. I have several missions for you. You are to secure Madeline Bergman's safety at any cost. Only with her assistance will we be able to neutralize MB. Proceed to the Bio-weapon Research Center and explore room MW. And defeat Ridley, should you encounter him. I'll take care of diverting the station. Also, you are hereby authorized to utilize any other auxiliary weapons you have at your disposal - proceed at your best discretion. Are these orders understood?"

Samus simply nodded.

Adam clutched his machine gun, the only other weapon he had at his disposal besides the freeze gun. "...Good luck, Samus."

"I love you!" she blurted out just as Adam was turning his back to her. A nameless fear suddenly made the bounty hunter's heart swell afterwards. Fear of never seeing Adam again, having to go on without him. Fear that she had betrayed all that had gotten her to this point by admitting her feelings for him. Fear of losing herself. It was a lot of reasons, really, the list of which was nearly limitless. But she couldn't fight it, not anymore. Samus closed the distance between their bodies, their helmets touching. She could barely make out his features behind the orange tint of his visor, her eyes half-closing. Her voice sounded soft and breathless, as if she were admitting a long repressed secret of her heart. "...I always have..."

Adam hoisted his machine gun on his back before bringing his arms around the bounty hunter and holding her close. He too could barely make out her features cast behind the green tint of her visor, but noticed what looked like a gentle smile that made him mentally grin just a bit. "Lady..."

Despite being blessed with a brilliant military mind, Adam couldn't say the same about being able to express himself in a way that didn't seem reserved or come off as uncaring. He'd never been very good at expressing his emotions. But with Samus, it was different. Because she was different. She understood him in ways his colleagues only dreamed of. And he felt just as safe and comfortable around her as she did with him. He could – and did – tell her things he'd never been able to tell others. She would merely look and listen intently, knowingly, as he talked about whatever was on his mind, good or bad. And when he was done airing his grievances, or talking about his hopes for the future, or even about the latest courtroom drama he'd read during a lazy weekend afternoon, she wouldn't mock or laugh at him, judge, degrade, or feign interest, but treat him as if he – and what he had to say – really mattered. Samus was able to see him for what he truly was beyond the medals, rank and prestige.

And as long as he had her, he needed no one else.

Samus dematerialized her helmet just as Adam raised the visor of his helmet to engulf her mouth in a slow, exploratory kiss, the slight sound of metal clinking together as their armored forms budged up against each other.

Silent moments passed before their eyes and foreheads met once more. "...I love you, too." Adam finally replied, his features atypically open and gentle. "Unfortunately, we still have our missions to complete." he grinned.

Samus took his commitment in stride even though she knew him to be right. Their matters of the heart could wait. For now, at least. "I know." she replied. "I...just wanted you to know that...just in case."

Adam claimed her lips once more, deeper this time and with gusto. His left hand traced down the smooth contours of her cheek. "The feeling is mutual, my Lady. Thank you for understanding."

Samus grinned and issued a word of mock warning while summoning her helmet. "Don't thank me; if you stand me up, it'll be your ass on the end of my cannon barrel."

Adam felt himself chuckle despite the pain in his chest, their bodies coming from each other before he drew the visor of his helmet down once more and reached for his gun.

Without so much as another word, they went their separate ways, intent on putting an end to this nightmare once and for all.

* * *

Once back inside the Bio-weapon Research Center, Samus immediately noticed that the door leading further into the complex was ajar, its control pad sparking. The mercenary gritted her teeth. Madeline had escaped, but to where? Samus continued deeper into the research center until coming upon a large room and discovering the mummified remains of Ridley just sitting in the corner of the room. Ridley's heavily mutilated corpse suggested he had been the subject of Metroid predation. And the way he was positioned, with his arms crossed limply on the floor and his mouth agape, suggested he had no means to defend himself and simply fell before the mysterious predator.

Samus gulped back the nameless fear rising in her throat at the sight of the space dragon's corpse before closing her eyes and taking several deep, slow breaths in an effort to maintain her focus on the task at hand. Her visor fogged over as she continued to breathe deep and slow, her heart, body and mind growing ever calmer, until she felt able to continue forward.

With one last glance at her enemy's corpse, Samus resumed her trek until coming to another large room with several empty tanks in the center; there were smaller tanks on opposite sides of the room, as well as two massive bay doors and several smaller rooms surrounding the perimeter. Room MW. It was eerily quiet, save for Samus's footsteps. As far as she could tell, nothing was amiss here. Still, instincts told her there was in fact something here, be it human or otherwise; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end with anticipation and just a little apprehension. She decided to start with investigating the smaller rooms. Room after room came up empty... until she stumbled upon a red-haired woman cowering on the floor inside one; Samus knocked gently on the small window. The sudden sound jarred the woman from her curled up position on the floor and into a period of hysteria.

"N-no! S-stay away from me!" she stammered. The woman approached a terminal within the small equipment room.

"It's all right; I'm here to help you. Please, try to stay calm." Samus reasoned calmly. "Take a deep breath."

The hysterical woman refused to be swayed by Samus' attempt at soothing her and instead, pushed a button on the terminal that opened the room's large bay doors.

Samus tried again. "Please, listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

"Go away!" cried the red-headed woman.

Knowing she was not going to get anywhere with the frightened woman, Samus focused her attention to the doors that had opened, and cautiously stepped through their gaping maw. The room was quite humid and damp, her boots caking over with sludge. Suddenly, to her complete shock, Samus saw what looked like a large egg and promptly scanned it.

Metroid eggs, at least twenty of them, scattered about in the dank chamber. Covered in amniotic fluid, they looked to be freshly birthed. Then, Samus heard something within the darkness breathing thunderously as the ground began to trembled beneath her feet.

Suddenly, the large, clawed foot of a monster ripped through the darkness and reached for the mercenary, intent on ripping the intruder to pieces.

A lone, almost feral scream soon pierced the darkness.


	14. Means to an End

**Chapter 14: Means To An End  
**

* * *

Samus had found herself face-to-face with the supreme being of the Metroid species, the gargantuan Queen Metroid. It was the final stage in the life cycle of a Metroid, with the former stage being Omega. Only select infants had the genetic coding within them to become queens, and only if they were within their natural habitat. So to encounter a queen outside of SR-388 was rare, if not impossible.

A white hot burst of pain coursed throughout the bounty hunter's every nerve, the torso of her suit having been pierced by the beast's surprise attack, her flesh savagely ripped into as it were mere paper. _"Suit integrity compromised; all systems remain online. Beginning regeneration sequence..."_ she heard her suit saying behind the agonizing pain, blood trickling down her torso in wide, unrelenting streams. Samus knew she'd been gravely injured, but also knew it could have been a lot worse had she not jumped back at the very last second. It would take far too long for her suit to repair itself, and not long at all for her to fall before the might of the Metroid queen, so she did the only thing she could - and had ever done in dire situations such as these - pressed on and hoped she made it out alive.

The Queen was a large, quadrupedal creature with a long neck, face similar to that of a crocodile, a broad jawline and mouth adorned with three sets of razor-sharp mandibles. Her extremely durable green carapace protected her from all types of beam weaponry, including the piercing effects of the Plasma Beam. Two large, organic, tube-like orifices, used most likely for birthing offspring, extended a ways out past her hind legs. The only thing that seemed to resemble her kin was the presence of a clear, gelatinous abdomen. Samus had encountered one during her mission on SR-388 right before the Baby hatched and, to this day, had been the only being to ever encounter one and live to tell about it.

Samus wasn't quite sure, but she thought she could see evidence of gestation present with the Queen's abdomen, and attempted to pierce it with a charged Plasma Beam shot. The Queen, however, was more than aware of Samus' attempt at harming her young and quickly shielded her exposed abdomen by crouching so that her belly tucked up into her body. Enraged, the Queen dashed toward Samus in an attempt to crush her against the wall. Samus barely managed to sidestep the Queen and watched as her head hit the wall and dented the metal plating.

Feeding on pure adrenaline at this point, Samus angrily trained her Arm Cannon on the head of the massive bioform, her eyebrows furrowing deeply together in determination as a feral growl tore from the depths of the warrior's heart within her. "COME ON!"

The resilient Queen shook off any ill-effects of its failed ramming attack and summoned two of her offspring from the holes on her back and slowly turned around to charge at Samus once more while her offspring attempted to distract her and attach themselves to the mercenary in an attempt to make her an easy target; luckily, Samus was able to detach one of them long enough to freeze it with her Ice Beam and kill it with a Super Missile. She quickly repeated the process with the next one and continued to move about the room, her vision beginning to grow tunnel due to blood loss. Soon, however, the Queen summoned three more Metroids from her back. With the constant swarming, Samus soon found it difficult to repeat the fail-safe process of shaking the creatures off with a Morph Ball Bomb, freezing them, and then killing them with a Super Missile, especially since the Queen was keenly aware and protective of her spawn and when they were frozen - a tiny tremor from her would usually shatter the ice, and the process would begin anew.

Eventually, Samus was able to kill every Metroid the Queen had jettisoned, and now found herself pitted against the enraged beast in a game of life and death. Samus's heart pounded in her chest as the Queen exploded in a rage, two sets of shimmering red crystals sprouting from her neck. Samus's Arm Cannon remained trained on the beast as it charged a deadly blast of plasma breath from within its mouth and fired it in her direction. The exhausted, heavily injured hunter was barely able to avoid the potent blast thanks to her Screw Attack capability, and moved to target the bright crystal on the Queen's neck with her Seeker Missiles. Once a clear lock was obtained, Samus shot five missiles simultaneously at the weak point and watched the Queen writhe in temporary pain.

 _Got to...hold on..._ Samus told herself in an attempt to dig deep and remain alert. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing.

Furious, the Queen attempted to charge at her prey once more in an futile attempt to crush her adversary. With another clear shot, Samus destroyed the other set of crystals on the Queen's neck. The crystals destroyed, the Queen crumbled to the ground, stunned from the impact.

Suddenly, the monotonous voice of the station's announcer echoed throughout the room, advising of imminent danger.

 _"This facility will intercept Galactic Federation space in approximately 30 seconds..."_

Samus watched as the Queen Metroid struggled to her feet while keeping tabs on the countdown. As the Metroid queen attempted to regain her balance, Samus furiously pummeled the trigger of her Arm Cannon and tore into the creature's exposed and sensitive abdomen, killing the unborn Metroids within her. Raging, the Queen finally crawled to her feet and spawned yet another set of crystals on her neck, seemingly having revived herself, thus beginning the battle anew. Samus couldn't believe her eyes; there was no time left to down the Queen and escape. She was exhausted, severely injured, and at her breaking point. The finality of her imminent death had left her struggling to find a way out of this hellish nightmare. To add to her despair, she could hear the computerized voice speak of another warning.

 _"Warning: Emergency brakes engaged. Brace for impact..."_

Suddenly, the ship came to a abrupt halt and sent both Samus and the Queen Metroid crashing to the floor. Samus was slow in getting to her feet. The sudden impact had caused the Queen to land on her side with her abdomen exposed. Samus held her fire, sensing the Queen was about to rebound. And when she did, her mouth opened wide, Samus pulled herself into the Queen's mouth using her Grapple Beam and was promptly digested in Morph Ball form. The corrosive acids of the Queen's stomach drained what remained of her energy tanks with horrifying speed. Sheer terror filled Samus as her energy reserves fell into the red and her suit began to shut down. In a last-ditch attempt to fell the creature, Samus quickly laid a Power Bomb within the Queen's stomach, exploding it from the inside out in a flash of white-hot light and heat.

The Queen had been obliterated and the room left in a mess of twisted metal and blood. As Samus disengaged the Morph Ball, wondering how she'd even had the strength to do so, the frightened woman quickly made her escape from the room and into the Queen Metroid's observation room. Samus watched, exhausted, as the woman fled. She did not follow suit, at least not immediately. Instead, Samus performed suit diagnostics to see what damage the Queen's acids had done to her already compromised suit. Ten percent left in energy reserves. Less than twenty percent left in missile systems. Beam weapons operating at full potential. Suit integrity at fifty percent. What's more, the battle had left her exhausted, dangerously close to expiring, and unable to utilize the experimental Federation technology within her suit due to her current state. And with no recharge booths nearby and the entire center on lockdown, Samus felt a sense of terrifying finality well up inside of her; she would be ill-equipped from this moment onward should she be forced to engage in another battle. The bounty hunter trudged on to the Observation Room.

* * *

Dual level in nature, the Observation Room featured numerous monitors and computer terminals fixed to the walls on either side. A lift leading to the second floor was at the far side of the rather spacious room. The area had a dark, almost eerie feel to it as Samus calmly approached the frightened woman.

The woman looked to be in her late thirties to mid forties, yet still retained a beautiful, youthful face and appearance. Red hair, cut short and simply styled, framed her face. She was dressed in a long white lab coat adorned with gray piping, gray slacks and knee-high white boots. And, as Samus clearly gathered from her hysteria earlier, the woman was very much terrified; she would have to approach the situation with the utmost care.

"Easy. Just relax. I won't hurt you. I won't come any closer until you say otherwise. You have my word. Just relax." Samus calmly explained.

"W-who are you?!" stammered the red-headed woman before taking note of the cyborg's grave state. "A-are you all right?"

Samus placed her hand against the shredded, red chest plate of her suit, making sure to hide her pain despite it being terribly obvious. "My name is Samus Aran. My injuries aren't important. Can you tell me your name?"

The red-head looked upon the cyborg in disbelief. Whomever was inside of the orange armor clearly wasn't fine, its torso armor shredded clean through like a knife through butter, a large gash, the muscles and tissue of its abdomen exposed, still fresh and bleeding. Yet the cyborg, for whatever reason, remained standing and concerned only with her. "B-But you're severely injured. Please, let me help you."

"Never mind about me – what is your name?" Samus asked again. "I'm an independent bounty hunter. I came here after intercepting a distress signal." added the hunter, feigning for the sake of the woman.

The woman relaxed just a bit. Her body, once tense and trembling, soon took on a more relaxed posture. She could trust this stranger before her. That much was clear. She tilted her head back to meet Samus's towering gaze. "My name is Madeline Bergman."

The revelation hit Samus with disbelief and confusion. "Wait a second... I met another woman who also called herself Madeline Bergman... What's going on?"

The woman promptly pushed a little button on the badge attached to the left breast of her lab coat and properly identified herself to be Dr. Madeline Bergman, Director of Operations aboard the Bottle Ship. "What you met earlier was MB. She's an android. She was created using the intellectual data of Mother Brain and subsequently developed Mother Brain's consciousness as well."

Shock soon turned to anger for the bounty hunter. She had been talking to the android form of Mother Brain only hours earlier! The revelation nearly made her want to explode in yet another burst of rage. But anger, as powerful (and dangerous) as it was, would never get her anywhere, and would only serve to fill her with regret later on. Regardless, Samus found it hard to contain her temper. "What?!"

The real Madeline Bergman attempted to brace Samus as she fumbled for stability, having grown dangerously weak, her body running on fumes of adrenaline. "Easy. Easy now. Just rest for a moment."

It was all Samus could to do shrug off Bergman's concern. "I'm...all right. Keep talking – I want to know everything."

Madeline stayed at the hunter's side. "MB was the artificial intelligence originally developed to regenerate and control Zebesian special forces. Because we wanted it to control these special forces through telepathy, we were forced to model its infrastructure after Mother Brain. At that time, MB didn't have a human form. Before long we started to see the viability of creating Metroid clones. Once we did... MB started to take on her current shape. Because we needed the first of these cloned Metroids to recognize MB as its mother, she had to take on the form of a living thing. With that as our basis, we were able to create the ideal relationship with the Metroid. One that wasn't based on dominance or control..."

Samus remembered the baby hatch before her very eyes on SR-388 and imprint her as its mother. And when it attacked Mother Brain in order to save her, that had been the type of relationship the Federation scientists attempted to create with MB. With the means of control in place, they began propagating Metroids within Sector Zero. At the same time, they were conducting genetic manipulation experiments on these very same Metroids in hopes of creating a cold-resistant variant. Samus gathered that the first of these cloned Metroids, based on the Baby, had somehow become the Queen she'd battled earlier. They had wanted to keep her as a control specimen, but the fact that she would grow into a Queen was something Madeline and her team couldn't have predicted... or could they? Samus began to wonder. With all the tests they had been conducting on Metroids, surely they could have discovered that the first cloned Metroid larva had the genetic coding to become a queen, which is why they intended to keep her as the control specimen. It had all begun to make sense now.

"The queen I killed earlier, she was the first of the cloned Metroids, and the one responsible for creating the link between MB and the Metroids, correct?"

Madeline nodded. "We discovered the first cloned larva did in fact have the genetic coding to become a queen. However, it was our understanding that such a progression was not possible due to unfavorable conditions - we understood that this metamorphosis was only possible on SR-388. However, MB was somehow able to negate this and successfully create the queen you encountered earlier."

"Because of her identity as its mother?"

"It's possible. Once MB was in her current form, she excelled. As an interface between us and the Metroids, her skills with personal interactions humanized her to a great extent. Her confidence was unwavering, and her ability to learn was greater than we'd expected. But then... She developed emotions." Madeline began to slowly pace back and forth. "She began asserting her own thoughts, and her opinions began to contradict ours. It's quite typical for artificial intelligence to evolve as a result of self-analysis. However, there's no precedent for an AI like MB developing emotions. It's possible that her interactions with the Metroids brought it about, but we don't know for sure. It was at this time that the decision was made to change her AI programming."

Samus took notice of the pain and regret in Madeline's voice as she uttered that last sentence. It was becoming quite clear to Samus what had happened. At the very moment the infant hatched and imprinted MB as its mother, the AI had begun to develop a soul. It was all too similar to Samus' own experience with her own hatchling. In this way, Samus nearly felt sympathy for the fledgling girl and the humanity that began to take shape within her. A humanlike existence... but one without feelings. To make MB less than human, the researchers had to deny her that consciousness. For Madeline, however, who had more or less treated MB as if she were her own daughter, it almost felt as if denying MB this consciousness was very much like sentencing her to death.

Tears began to stir within Madeline's eyes as she recalled the painful memory. "I had no idea they wanted to change her programming. One day, two security officers suddenly barged in on a meeting and took MB away right before my eyes. I... watched her struggle and reach out to me. She kept calling for me... I wanted so desperately to help her..."

Samus soon felt sympathy for Madeline and what she had witnessed. Her daughter was taken away from her before her very eyes. The hatchling had been taken before Samus's very eyes. The similarities were almost eerie. Samus reached out to Madeline with sympathy in her voice. "Why didn't you?"

"While it's true I treated MB as if she were my daughter - I even resorted to calling her 'Melissa' - I knew the decision to change her programming was for the best, at the time. Looking back, I wish I could have done more to protect her. However, my unwillingness to help caused a disturbing reaction in her that day... She became venomous and fixated on me."

It suddenly became clear just what transpired on the Bottle Ship. Once 'Melissa' had felt abandoned and hunted by her adoptive mother and those who had created her, she telepathically commanded the special forces to revolt and kill everyone aboard the station, and the station soon fell into complete chaos and disorder. Adding to the already dangerous situation was the newly cloned Ridley, who had been masquerading as a harmless pet of the researchers. His presence caused the already volatile creatures to fly into a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Madeline froze, her eyes fixed on Samus. "I believe MB is trying to get revenge on the Federation... and it's quite possible that all humans have now become a target of her hatred. She's backed into a corner... and all her hatred in entirely focused on you and me at this point."

Samus reached out to Madeline and gripped her shoulder gently. "You're safe now. The Federation Army General who is here now will secure your safety. Both he and I will make certain that no harm comes to you."

Samus watched as Madeline's eyes and mouth opened wide, a gasp escaping her throat. Turning around, Samus came to look upon the form of MB, her eyes burning with hatred as she pointed a freeze gun at Samus and Madeline.

"Melissa! Please... don't do this. Listen to what I have to say. You... you don't want to do this." Madeline explained as she calmly and slowly approached the android.

Samus issued a warning that fell on deaf ears. "Madeline! Get back!"

But Madeline continued to step ever closer to her "daughter". Her voice, calm and collected, was one of reason and acknowledgment of her failure. "I'm sorry for everything that happened to you, Melissa. I never wished for any of this to happen. I'm so sorry. But... it's okay now..."

The plea had done nothing to lower MB's guard, the gun still fixed on Madeline. Her voice was emotionless. "You. You abandoned me. You betrayed me. You must pay the price for what you have done."

Tears welled behind Madeline's green eyes. "I'm so sorry, Melissa. My decision to do nothing to help you haunts me to this day. But we can get past this, starting right now. I promise. Please, find it within yourself to forgive me..."

A mother's plea to her daughter. It was one conflict Samus refused to involve herself in, so long as the situation allowed it. All she could do was watch as the mother and daughter stood mere feet apart from one another, and merely looked into each other for any signs of the bond that held them together. The tension was heavy in the room, but there was evidence that Madeline's tearful plea had broken through MB's stone heart; the android slowly lowered the freeze gun to the floor.

Suddenly, however, the tension in the air soon exploded into chaos as Melissa soon found herself frozen in suspended animation by an unidentified assailant and numerous Federation Army soldiers charged into the room with their rifles pointed at Samus and Madeline. Samus instinctively shielded Madeline with her outstretched arm and began to slowly back up, her Arm Cannon fixed on the soldiers.

"Nice and easy, Hunter. Don't move!" one of the soldier's announced as he approached with rifle fixed on Samus.

But Samus couldn't move back any further. Instead, she continued to point her weapon at the soldiers who began to swarm her and the woman in her custody. "Stay close to me, Madeline."

From behind the approaching soldiers, Samus could see MB's frozen body beginning to thaw from the ground up rather quickly. And once she was completely thawed, the enraged android attacked with a vengeance. Using her powers of telepathy, several large, decorative orbs that adorned the second floor of the room suddenly began to glow and soon transformed into several dangerous bio-forms known as Debrachians, who immediately went about attacking the helpless soldiers and Samus without mercy.

"There's too many of them!"

"They're too fast!"

Samus could hear the screams of the soldiers as they tried in vain to fell the large, agile super soldiers. And with a couple of them acting as guards over MB, Samus was finding it difficult to put an end to the bloodshed and eliminate the vengeful android once and for all.

Madeline screamed over the chaos. "You have to stop her, Samus! Stop her before it's too late!"

"But she'll die! That's your daughter, Madeline!" Samus replied as she continued to ward off the relentless Debrachians with missile shots.

"She's too far gone! She has decided her fate! But you mustn't allow her to decide the fate of innocent lives!"

That was all Samus needed to hear. As the Debrachians guarding MB reverted into small, green orbs in order to recover and the other two were focused on Samus and the soldiers, Samus was about to fire a charged Plasma Beam shot when MB suddenly turned to ice once more before her eyes. With the android at Samus' mercy, the heavily injured mercenary fired the charged Plasma shot at MB. The shot blew a hole clean through her torso and shattered her body into a million frozen little pieces. And with no one to control them now, the Debrachians soon reverted back to their original orb shape, now motionless on the floor.

Samus breathed a sigh of relief, her body all but spent, before collapsing to the floor on her hands and knees, Varia Suit fading from her form to reveal the tattered blue bodysuit underneath. She could go now, peacefully into that good night, her mission here finally accomplished.

Then, from the shadows of the open doors, a weak smile crept across her mouth as Adam rushed the door to her side.

"Adam..." she murmured, half-smiling. "Mission...accomplished. Now help me...to my ship."

"Samus. Don't talk. Save your strength. You're going to make it, understand?" Adam replied calmly before bringing Samus's right arm around his shoulders and bringing her slowly to her feet. He issued orders to the reinforcements that had just entered the room. "Inform Col-"

"That won't be necessary, General Malkovich." a gruff voice interjected from above suddenly.

Colonel Richards of the Galactic Federation Army descended from the second floor of the room. Coming from the transport lift, the salty old veteran approached Adam and properly saluted him.

"You performed admirably, General, as per usual. However, I am sorry to hear about what happened to your men. May they rest with honor." The gruff old Colonel turned his attention to the bounty hunter, recognizing her immediately yet coldly choosing to ignore her as she stood bleeding against the General. Like much of the military's rank and file, he didn't particularly hold people like Samus in high regards and often blamed third parties such as herself for the low morale that had been infecting his beloved military ever since the start of the Space Pirate war years ago. "Can't seem to keep that dog of yours at home, I see, General," snickered the Colonel before turning his attention to two of his men currently restraining Dr. Bergman, issuing his next directive while gesturing for the door, "Take her away."

Madeline broke away from the duo of soldiers restraining her and rushed to join Samus and the soldier assisting her. "No! Samus!" she called, adding, "Somebody help her! Please!"

Adam calmly interjected, though his eyes remained fixed – and glaring – at the Colonel. The General felt a similar way about him as the Colonel felt about Samus. But unlike Colonel Richards, Adam kept his misgivings about the often outspoken Colonel to himself. "She's going to make it, Dr. Bergman." His gray eyes narrowed then, still fixed on the older man in front of him. "Colonel Richards, I have my orders on behalf of the Supreme Chairman to secure and escort any survivors to safety. If anyone is going to be 'taking' Dr. Bergman away, it's going to be me and the bounty hunter you so kindly referred to as a 'dog' – she has just as much clearance to be here as you and your unit. And she will be shown the proper respect so long as she is within my presence. Is that understood?"

The Colonel shot Adam a cold, calculating glare, eyes narrowing. "...Very well, General. Rest assured, my men have this station secure..."

"So you do, Colonel." Adam replied stoically before turning his attention to Madeline. "Please come with me, Dr. Bergman." he said before the trio of survivors of what would forever be known as the "Bottle Ship Incident" freely made their way out of the Bio-weapon Research Center and back to the docking bay.


	15. Aftermath

**Chapter 15: Aftermath  
**

* * *

Inside the medical bay of her Gunship, Samus lay on the small exam table while Adam took inventory of her injuries in spite of his own. In addition to the bruises and lacerations she had sustained during her battle against Ridley, a lengthy diagonal swath extended from her left breast to her hip where the queen had slashed her, and though clotting had already begun, parts of the piercing laceration still wept thin rivulets of blood onto the stainless steel table. Her Zero Suit, tattered and torn, was caked in both dry and fresh blood, and he knew it would need to be removed at least partially in order for him to gain a concise evaluation of her injuries.

"Samus, I need to get you out of your suit to properly analyze the extent of your injuries." he stated gently, "Are there any objections to this?"

"No. None." Samus replied hoarsely before adding, "But I'll be fine – you're the one who should be sitting here right now, not me. I couldn't help but notice you wincing earlier when we were in the Control Center."

"Understood." Adam replied calmly, "And don't worry. I've been through worse." he added before reaching behind the hunter's back to unzip the skin tight body suit, only to slowly pull it down to her hips, revealing the mercenary's svelte, athletic – battled ravaged – form beneath and take in the extent of her injuries, the magnitude of which would have surely been mortal to a mere human. Her body was covered in various shades of bruising, puncture wounds and scars that served as painful reminders of what she'd been through to get to this point in her life. The dangers, the near-death experiences, the traumas she'd sustained in order to keep the galaxy at peace. Adam briefly checked the injuries he'd been able to dress moments after Samus' encounter with Ridley and the Sector Zero mission and was pleased to find them healing well before redressing them in fresh bandages and moving on to address the deeper wound to her chest and abdomen. Adam promptly cleaned and treated the affected areas before readying the body scanner fixed to the roof of the medical bay to check for any internal damage or bleeding.

Samus snorted, a quizzical look on her face. "Really, Adam? That's your excuse?" she laughed behind the gentle hum of the scanner. "I'm pretty sure I've been through enough shit for the both of us. For the rest of our lives, I might add."

The General looked her over, his eyes shifting between her and the scanner. "While I don't doubt that for a moment, somebody has to worry about you, Lady." he replied softly. "Don't worry, it keeps me busy." As the scan finished, an uneasy sigh escaped him. "So, what's next for you?"

As he asked this question, knowing full well of her occupation and all it entailed, Adam prepared himself for the very real possibility that he would likely never see her again, that the moments they had shared together were merely born out of fear and solitude, not love and the desire for completion.

Samus ran her fingers through Adam's black hair. She could find no better word to capture this simple, albeit unconventional, moment between them. "This." she replied, gazing into his deep gray eyes. "You and me, just like this – but without all the blood and near death battles. Maybe." she chuckled.

For a split second, Adam thought he was hearing things. Then again, he knew Samus wasn't one to deceive others, especially him. And yet, the skeptic little voice within him just had to ask, as his heart hungered for the truth. "What do you mean?"

Samus couldn't help but chuckle softly despite her injuries. She knew what he was up to. "Don't play stupid, Adam. You know exactly what I mean."

"I do, you're right. But, you're the last person I expected to hear that from, Lady. I'm just wondering what changed." he replied before looking over the results of the body scan. Save for a fracture of her sternum, left collar bone and upper rib cage, Adam was relieved to find no traces of organ damage or internal bleeding. "Scan looks clear for any internal damage. You do have quite a few fractures."

"Just another day at the office." Samus shrugged before responding to his earlier question with an honest evaluation of herself. "...I changed, Adam. I can't explain it. Though I initially hated the way you made me feel, I'll admit. I felt that if I lowered my guard, I would forever be looked upon as weak by Grey Voice and Old Bird and a mockery to their legacy. And I couldn't let them down. That's one of the reasons I left the Army and chose to become a solitary bounty hunter. I wanted to be free of attachment because I was afraid of becoming weak. But now I realize it's these feelings – and you – that keep me from losing what's left of my humanity. I guess what I'm...trying to say is..."

"I know, Lady." Adam replied, noticing the look of atypical shyness on the hunter's face. "...And I would be honored to, Samus." he smiled gently before taking her hand in his, knowing full well of the consequences should their relationship be discovered. The repercussions of such a relationship would be disastrous, more so for him than Samus, but disastrous nevertheless. And was the love for a woman really worth risking his military future for? In short... Yes. Yes it was. Because Samus Aran wasn't just _any_ woman. She was his Lady, his entire world, especially now that he no longer had any living family left. _She_ was his family, all he had left in this cold, lonely universe. And he couldn't imagine his life without her.

As far as Adam Malkovich was concerned, he had reached his pinnacle of military service. He had already become the youngest officer to reach the rank of Lieutenant General at the relatively young age of 35, and later to the rank of full General at his current age of forty, had amassed practically every medal known to exist within the Federation Army, and had served in more campaigns than these young recruits nowadays would ever see. The military had, more or less, been the only thing he had ever known for roughly half of his entire life. He had nothing left to prove, to himself or the Federation.

"As soon as you heal. And you will because I'm going to watch you like a hawk." he chuckled.

Samus took his commitment to her well-being in stride, but also couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by Adam's earlier remark. "You're serious, aren't you? About...us, I mean." The bounty hunter took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I'm a bit fuzzy when it comes to Army Code of Ethics, but isn't there a rule against willfully associating with people like me? Suppose they found out about us? I don't think I could live with myself, knowing I ended your career, Adam." Her eyes, intense and piercing, locked with his. "I'm not in the military, so what happens to me over this is no big deal – but you, Adam, have a great deal of influence within the Federation; you have a dedicated record of service, prestige, and a reputation. I know what you had to go through to get to where you are now. Are you trying to tell me you would put all of that at risk... just for me?"

Adam gave a slow nod. "The Federation has had their time with me, Samus. So yes, I guess that's what I'm saying – I would risk it all for you, my Lady."

Samus could do nothing but stare at him. For a moment, she felt as if this whole moment was nothing more than a dream, or one of those classic black and white romance films from centuries ago she would occasionally run into during a fit of channel surfing during her rare moments of downtime between hunting down criminals or missing persons and saving the galaxy for the umpteenth time. The ones where the women oozed grace, strength, dignity and beauty and the men were gallant, handsome, and gentlemanly in their courting. While it was endearing to think about and wish for, Samus had never bothered to dwell on it much, knowing it to be nothing more than a slice of the ideal life she knew she would never have in this or any other life. Protecting the galaxy, missions to dangerous planets and harrowing escapes, that was her life, would forever be her life, so long as she lived.

"I...should be fully healed once I wake up. Shouldn't take long. Then we can see where this whole thing goes." Samus said finally.

Adam became curious as he reached for some Army Battle Dress pads and medical tape from a nearby compartment against the wall behind Samus. Sure he could argue that he'd known Samus for years and knew her unlike anyone else. But he didn't know absolutely _everything_ about her. Even now, he was still trying to unravel the mystery that was Samus Aran. "What do you mean once you wake up? Is that a normal occurrence every time you get injured?" he asked while cleaning the deep claw marks on her chest.

To be fair, Samus trusted Adam. Probably more so than anyone else in the known universe. But even so, she had yet to tell him about the deeper workings of her modified DNA and how it affected her recovery time from injuries. Given the situation though, and the fact that he had asked, she figured now would be as good a time to tell him as any. "My DNA...it extends far deeper than athletics, strength, and my ability to bond with my Power Suit. It also effects my recovery time after suffering an injury. It mainly depends on how extensive the injury is, though. Basically, short recovery times for trivial wounds, and longer times for more severe injuries. It may sound great being able to heal within hours after a superficial wound or common illness, but it has its drawbacks."

"Specifically?" Adam replied while preparing the dress pad.

"While I usually don't undergo a regenerative coma for things like lacerations or contusions, the drawback comes from having to recover from more severe trauma. An example would be during the Space Pirate attack on Norion. Three other hunters and myself were hit by a blast of pure Phazon from my doppelganger, Dark Samus and knocked unconscious. When I came to, they said I'd been in a coma for a month. So you can see where the drawback would be."

Adam knowingly nodded before carefully placing the pad over the deepest part of the wound and securing it with the medical tape. "Right. A longer recovery time would help you, but also make you more vulnerable to attack."

Samus, too, nodded before drawing a shallow breath. "Exactly right."

"Thank you for telling me all this, Lady. That being said, I'd feel better knowing you were aboard the ship as opposed to being here alone aboard your Gunship while you recovered."

Normally, Samus would have argued to the bitter end with Adam, but given everything that had happened, both to her and aboard this vessel, she was simply too tired to protest the General's concern, and merely gave a slow nod of her head before closing her eyes and taking a deep, painful breath. "H-hurry then... I'm getting tired. And once I'm out, I'll stay out – and whatever you do, don't let the medics remove my Zero Suit. It has to stay on so my Power Suit can repair itself."

"Understood, Samus. Now you just focus on healing – I'll be there when you wake up, don't worry." Adam replied before carefully hoisting the hunter into his arms and coming from the interior of Aran's Gunship, only to board the GFMT Hygieia and make contact with the Vixin IV to notify the Infirmary of the incoming arrival while Madeline attended to Samus and kept watch over her as she fell into her regenerative sleep. As the military transport's engines roared to life, Samus heard the ship leave from the edge of her consciousness. Suddenly, everything seemed so clear to her. With some apprehension, she would give this thing called Life a try; it had been lost to her for what seemed like eons. Roaming the stars until she was needed, that had been her life. She couldn't even remember a time where she wasn't involved with some planetary conflict as a mercenary, or tracking criminals and missing people as a bounty hunter; the concept of rest and relaxation was almost alien to her. There would be some serious adjustments ahead, that much was clear. But as daunting as the concept of living a normal life was to her, Samus strangely felt rather exhilarated and eager to accept such a challenge.

With the coordinates for their destination set, Samus and the crew of the Hygieia fled the doomed station. And for the first time in her life, she did so with hope for the new future ahead of her.


	16. Epilogue: New Beginnings

**Author's Notes:** I'd like to give thanks to the few people who have enjoyed this story. I know the subject matter isn't exactly every Metroid fan's cup of tea...So thank you for at least keeping an open mind and giving it a chance. And be sure to stay turned for the next installment!

 **This chapter will contain sexual content. Proceed at your own discretion.**

 **Epilogue: New Beginnings**

* * *

In the week following Samus Aran's mission with the 07 Squadron aboard the Bottle Ship, Federation officials had made the unanimous decision to destroy the vessel, plus any and all specimens and research data in an effort to prevent it from possibly coming into the wrong hands and being used against the Federation. As the sole survivor and Director of Operations aboard the Bottle Ship, Madeline Bergman was stripped of her position and sentenced to five cycles in prison for violating Federation Code LV-426. The bodies of Lyle Smithsonian, Maurice Favreau, Anthony Higgs, and James Pierce had all been secured by military officials and laid to rest – save for James, who had been posthumously convicted of murder, treason, and espionage - with full military honors. As the unit's Commanding Officer, Adam had delivered the eulogy on behalf of the men and their families. Though it had been difficult for Samus to come to grips with the fact that Anthony Higgs, who felt very much like a brother to her, was dead, she nonetheless appeared at the ceremony incognito to show those she'd briefly served with the proper respect.

At present, General Adam Malkovich stood outside of the Army Commandant's office inside Federation Headquarters, his thoughts turning toward the future as he moved across the wide hall toward a nearby window. Traffic whirred past on the crowded streets below him and around him, transports of all shapes and sizes going every which way as civilians made their way home from work. Twilight was falling upon the sprawling city in a flush of pastel pinks, purples, blues and weak sunlight. The prospect of a new beginning filled him with warm promise like the gentle rays of sun shinning on his face.

His work, however, was just beginning; he'd just come from a two hour meeting with General Westbrook regarding a position at the nearby Galactic Federation Army Academy as an instructor at the behest of the decorated officer (or was it pleading? Adam wasn't quite sure.) While it was far less exciting than commanding troops on the frontline, it did give him to a chance to continue his career by passing on his knowledge to the next generation of soldiers. General Westbrook, however, made it clear his fellow General that he was still expected to perform his duty should his services become necessary in the future. It was a commitment, Adam had told Westbrook, that he did not take lightly. While Adam had told Samus the Federation had had their time with him, he'd also known all along that retirement from the only life he'd ever known was out of the question. It was a simple fact he couldn't deny, and one he knew Samus understood as well – his career would forever be apart of who he was. He would be receiving further details on his new job in the coming weeks and months ahead.

As he turned to begin walking down the hall, he was suddenly struck by the appearance of a familiar figure at the end of the hall, fresh off the elevator. Long, flowing blond hair tied back into a ponytail. Jade, military-style jacket with fasteners on the collar and breast area. Black leggings. Tan-colored, knee-high suede boots with a considerable heel. In spite of the slight chill in the air, the General felt that long repressed fire warm his heart at the mere sight of the tall woman approaching. She looked absolutely beautiful.

He watched her approach him slowly, her walk one of grace and subtle sensuality. Of unwavering inner strength despite the sad look in her jeweled cerulean eyes. Though she had made a full recovery from her injuries since the Bottle Ship, the bounty hunter was still grief-stricken over the loss of Anthony Higgs even though she did not outwardly express it. Adam knew. He knew all too well. She'd kept to herself ever since the funeral, alone, inside her temporary quarters – sometimes for hours at a time – with her eyes closed and teeth clenched together, her entire body tensing as if to restrain the raw emotions threatening to burst violently from within her. The flashbacks had been threatening her ever since she and Adam's men had first stepped onto that god-forsaken station, her psyche still raw and fragile from Zebes. But she merely pushed on, knowing it was all she could do to keep what little remained of her sanity intact.

Then the casualty numbers began to rise, and with it, the hunter's feelings of anxiety, that she would surely lose control. Things had come to a head during the battle with Ridley, when Samus found herself no longer able to keep her flashbacks at bay. Not even Adam's presence had done much to calm her, her nerves having been completely shot by the mere sight of the fiendish space dragon. Somehow, she had regained herself, if only for a moment, and did battle with the beast despite her paralyzing fear.

And now Anthony was dead. Dead because of her moment of weakness. Dead because of her.

The thought – now horrifying reality – of having to go on without him shook the mercenary to her very core. But she would move on, somehow. It would take time, but she would learn to go on without him. After all, what choice did she have? Protecting the galaxy, that was her life. It's what she'd been trained since childhood to do, and nothing more. She would go on somehow, despite her pain, knowing it's what Anthony would have wanted, knowing it was all she could do.

To keep fighting despite the overwhelming odds against her, knowing it was who she was, had always been, and would forever be regardless of the circumstances.

Soon she was standing before Adam, dressed in his Army blue general's trench coat, uniform and white gloves. How he wanted to reach out and hold her, lest he never get another chance to after they went their separate ways. And knowing Samus, Adam was nearly certain she would go back to living her life among the stars, roaming the cosmos until she was needed. She'd told him that she wanted to start a new life with him, but he wasn't so sure she could just throw that part of her life away and move on as if she'd never been a bounty hunter to begin with. Like him, it would be forever with her, in one form or another. They would, however, give being together a shot.

They merely looked into each other a good long while before Samus finally broke the silence with a simple greeting. "Adam."

"Lady." the General acknowledged, hoping the conversation would get his mind off of things. But as he looked at her, she just shy of his six-foot-three inch height, with those eyes he loved, he was finding it harder and harder to concentrate on anything but Samus. "Everything check out at the infirmary?"

"For the most part. Not too thrilled about the cocktail they put me on, though." Samus replied before patting one of the pockets of her jacket where she kept the medication she'd been prescribed for her anxiety, depression, and PTSD by Army psychiatrists.

"I know. But it's important you take them, Samus. They'll help you get back on track."

Samus sighed as she shook her head, her face twisting into frustration. "I know. Damn it, I know! I know I'm fucked up, I know I'm a failure!" she replied before moving to look out the window, her hand and forehead pressed up against the glass. She choked back her tears, her voice becoming nothing more than strangled whisper. "He's dead because of me... My parents are dead because of me. Because I wasn't strong enough to help..." _Maybe Gray was right about me all along. I am too weak to wear the legacy of the Chozo..._

Adam approached her, but remained mindful of her space, knowing how volatile she could be when in psychological distress. Eventually, he was able to place one of his hands against her back without so much as a protest from the bounty hunter and help to at least bring her some comfort. He kept his voice low as random personnel walked past. "Samus. Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Samus drew a shaky breath. "...My Gunship. Platform 078." she replied monotonously.

Adam's hand remained against her back. "All right. Let's go, Samus." he replied softly.

* * *

Inside the dim sleeping quarters of her Gunship, Samus and Adam sat on the bed in silence. They were truly alone now, away from prying eyes and suspicion. Samus could let go now, having found comfort in Adam's presence, his strong arms wrapped around her. Samus cried in his arms in silence, tears dripping down her face and onto the shoulder epaulets of his coat; Adam didn't say a word over her tears, offering his support in the form of gentle caresses upon her back and occasional kiss to her head until she eventually calmed down and looked upon him once more.

"Thanks," she began, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands while Adam held her. "But I'm sorry you had to see me like this. It's not a side of my myself I'm particularly proud of."

Adam kept a straight face, his hands coming to rest against the small of her back. "Don't apologize for being human. Lady." he replied, his look suddenly turning remorseful. "...I miss him, too. All of them. But all any of us can do is keep going, in honor of those who fought alongside us."

Samus averted her eyes for a moment before looking upon Adam once more. "I know... I just... Well, let's just say I was overdue for an episode, and attending Anthony's funeral was the last straw. These past couple of years have been particularly rough on me, what with the war and Phazon crisis – it was just one mission after another that finally concluded with the fall of Zebes. I was still trying to come down from what occurred there when I got the call to help you and your team investigate the Bottle Ship. I probably shouldn't have accepted the mission but, you know me. If I'm not out risking my ass for the safety of the universe, I'm not doing my job."

"Yes, Lady. I know." Adam replied, half-grinning before his face turned serious once more. "But the war is over now, due in part to your efforts. You owe it to yourself to take leave from your obligations to the universe so you can focus on yourself for once. Have you ever thought about that?"

Samus chuckled wryly at the General's suggestion. "I don't believe that was one of the conditions in my taking of the Power Suit, Adam. So no, that thought has never once crossed my mind. I'm bound to my duty as Protector of the Galaxy until the day I die, no questions asked."

"I can respect that, really." Adam replied, his eyes and face dark underneath the glow of the light fixture against the back wall. "But you can still do your duty and be mindful of yourself. It doesn't have to be one or the other."

"Easier said than done." Samus chuckled. "An entire species isn't counting on you to uphold their legacy."

But Adam was less than amused. "I mean it, Samus. If you focus your entire worth into a single cause, you'll burn yourself out, or worse, end up dead. And if that happened, who would uphold the Chozo's legacy then? Do you see what I'm saying?"

Samus shot him a knowing glance. "I suppose I do..." She grinned then, before cupping his chiseled face into her palms. "And it starts now...with you." she said before engulfing his lips.

Adam leaned in to the warmth of their mouths joined, the slippery smooth sensation of their tongues dancing and exploring one another, the strong touch of the hunter's hands against his chest, her fingers moving with urgent dexterity down the buttons of his trench coat until it was free from his form. Eventually, he had to pull himself from her lips, his body starved for oxygen. She looked at him, waiting for him to catch his breath, with a subtle smile on her face and slight blush on her cheeks. "What I meant to say was...I'd like to find out if you and I are...destined for something more, whether or not both parts of me really can co-exist... I'm sorry. Expressing any other feeling than anger has never been my strong suit."

But Adam understood perfectly what she'd been trying to say. He felt a smile curve his mouth. "I understand, my Lady. And it would be an honor."

"Then you won't mind me doing this." she replied. With reflexes he could only attribute to Aran's Chozo DNA, Adam found his lips being claimed once more by Samus in a languid kiss. Her arms found their way around his strong neck and encircled him, her body pushing against his ever so slightly with eager anticipation. His strong, calloused hands moved to the small of her back, fingers tracing over the restrictive fabric of her jacket. Their bodies, still fully clothed, welded together with warm anticipation as their lips continued to play across each other and their tongues joined once more in cautious exploration. In her yearning to feel him against her, Samus guided him to rest against the restricting fabric of her jacket, which had long since grown stuffy and a hindrance; Samus fumbled with the off-metallic clasps of her jacket and threw it across steel-paneled room into a forgotten pile in the corner.

Adam gazed into her eyes, those eyes he loved and now lived for, before hoisting her atop his lap, moving to kiss and trace the tip of his tongue along her jugular. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his entire weight down down with her to the bed surface, effectively pinning her and allowing him unrestricted use of his hands; she could feel them run up, down and around her body, cup the sides of her breasts, her hips, her thighs. Samus found his touches upon her to be surprisingly gentle, almost as if he viewed her like that of a delicate flower, but no less exciting to her.

However, there was one thing still holding him back from exploring her fully, her simple purple athletic top; with eager and skilled hands, he slipped her remaining top over her head and dropped it haphazardly to the floor. Malkovich took a moment to simply gaze upon his lover's body. Soft, fragrant skin; full and supple breasts, her nipples showing subtle signs of arousal from behind the support of her sports bra. Scars, plenty of them, tattooed into her skin, serving as a painful reminder of her obligations to the universe. Adam felt himself becoming painfully aware of himself, an almost feral growl pushing from his throat as he lapped hungrily at her collar bone.

Samus inhaled his cool scent as her fingers moved down the buttoned coat of his uniform. It, too, eventually joined her jacket in the corner.

Adam ceased. His gray eyes, smoldering, caught hers. She watched with hungry eyes as Adam removed his tie, only to slowly unbutton his gray dress shirt in an almost teasing manner. Her eyes remained fixed on him, warmth tugging at her most carnal of flesh. A grin curved one corner of her mouth, only to aggressively tackle him to the bed once more and pin his body between her athletic thighs.

"You want to tease, do you?" she said, now on top of him.

Samus looked over his exposed torso with keen interest. Broad, powerful shoulders; toned – but not excessively - pectorals, biceps and abdominals despite his forty years of age; various scarring on his upper and lower obliques and deltoids from various combat injuries; a faint trail of dark body hair descending downwards from his navel and a light dusting on his chest area. She slowly brought one of her hands to his rolling chest, and watched as he briefly tensed beneath her as the feel of her cold hand registered in his brain. A seductive smile played across her lips, seeing her touch upon him continuing to drive him mad with agony.

His hands moved to caress her toned upper arms and the roundness of her shoulders. His hips grew warm from the strength of her inner thighs. His hands moved behind her back, the digits moving skillfully across the clasps of her bra; Samus allowed the undergarment to fall loosely to the slight bend of her elbow before shrugging it off, then felt a soft moan escape her throat as Adam's hands began to gently knead the supple tenderness of her breasts, his thumbs orbiting against the dark areola that encircled her painfully sensitive nipples.

"You're beautiful, Samus. Has anyone ever told you that?" he asked beneath the pale light.

Samus turned her head to the side, her gazed wandering off to a random part of the small room. "...No. Not that it really matters." she said simply with slight melancholy.

Adam looked up at her, assertive. "Well, I'm telling you now, Lady. I think you're beautiful."

She wasn't sure if she should feel enamored, indifferent, or angry at his flattery. After all, if her past glances with quick to rise, quick to die nights of passion had told her anything, it was that every man, woman, or humanoid had said that to her, in one way or another. She knew they never meant it. It was just an excuse to make her feel like she'd mattered for one night. But she knew. She wasn't stupid or gullible by any means. After all was said and done, they would be gloating to friends, acquaintances, even perhaps enemies, about their conquest of Samus Aran, most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy. What made this man below her any different?

She was close to him, for one thing. Samus was probably the only person within his vast network who could actually say she knew Adam Malkovich. Really, truly, knew him. Not only on a personal level, but an emotional one. She knew the man beneath the rank, the medals, the prestige. And the way he'd just uttered those words with so much sincerity, so much purpose, the way he was being so gentle, the look in his eyes – a look Samus had never seen before - so loving and absolute, all of it was more than enough to confirm what she had, more or less, knew all along.

He wasn't just _saying_ she was beautiful. He _meant_ it. Every word of it.

She turned to face him again, his eyes still patiently focused on her, and cupped the right side of his face in her hand, her fingers tracing along his strong jaw. "...I love you, Adam."

He merely smiled. It was wide and bright even in the dimness of the room. "I love you too, Lady."

Samus lowered herself onto Adam's body, her arms drawing around his neck, then began to push herself against his manhood. A request fell softly from her lips and against his ear, "Touch me."

Adam gazed deeply into her eyes, searching them for any sign of hesitance. "Are you sure, Samus? I don't want to hurt you, or do anything you really don't want."

She looked at him with gentle amusement. "I appreciate that… but if I didn't really want this, I wouldn't have asked in the first place. Besides...I trust you. More than I've ever trusted anyone."

To demonstrate her readiness, Samus wriggled her way, at least partially, out of her leggings and allowed Adam the pleasure of removing them from her lower body. Then he carefully removed her of her panties, which to his surprise were slightly moist. As she sat on top of him, naked and uncharacteristically vulnerable, Adam grinned and brought his arms around her, only to flip their bodies in such a way so that he was now on top of her.

She looked at him intently as her hands laced into his and guided them to rest against her breasts once more. His limber digits roamed her breasts, which felt full and voluptuous to his fingertips. Adam involuntarily felt himself strain against the fabric of his undergarments as he gently kneaded her nipples with his thumbs. Samus watched as Adam lowered himself against her body, hands still on her breasts and felt his mouth, lips and tongue suckling - lapping - at her neck; her collar bone; in-between her breasts; her breasts themselves; the sounds, the sensations, swelling her interior walls. The breath hitched in her throat. Finally, he moved down her taut belly in a trail of butterfly kisses. Her hands coursed through his hair to rest against his upper back, the anticipation building within her.

Adam rested his hand against Samus's hips, his finger tips trailing along the indentations as he gazed at her. There was a readiness, a gentleness, behind her eyes. His lips planted kisses against her left thigh and moved slowly inward, his auditory senses listening keenly for her likes and dislikes. He felt so connected to her at this very moment, knowing her in her most vulnerable state. He stared at her entry and felt as though he would lose control. It appeared moist, dark and swollen, but still beautiful. Her unique scent tickled his nostrils; a sharp breath escaped him as he felt himself become painfully erect.

He glanced up at Samus, her eyes half closed and filled with warm anticipation. No longer was she closed off, but an open book in which he knew everything about. He didn't have to ask if she wanted this. Her swollen, dark labia and scent were indicative enough that she clearly wanted this, yearned for this. And he, too, wanted this; without so much as another word, Adam buried his mouth into her womanhood and began to kiss her most tender of areas.

Her breathing became a deep and steady rhythm as Adam continued to kiss her, then quickly turned more frenzied and shallow with the insertion of his tongue into her lubricated orifice. The breath caught in her throat as she arched her head back deep into the pillow and pinched her eyes tight, her clitoris becoming engorged and prominent. Her pleasure came as breathless acknowledgment as she licked her lips, "That's it. Just like that. God, Adam…"

Adam continued against his own urges, the sensual moment captivating him in ways he never thought possible. His lips and tongue moved along her, within her, with a hunger he'd never felt before. He wanted to devour her, all of her, his appetite insatiable. He lapped at her most delicate of erogenous zones with his tongue and carefully made circles around the bulbous tip of her clitoris. Above him, he could feel Samus grow tightly coiled like a spring ready to release.

As she fought for control over her urge to burst, Samus attempted to speak behind a tight whisper, "Now, Adam. Right now."

Adam collected a few drops of her secretion on his tongue before exiting her. His eyes caught hers. They were smoldering blue-green pools of passion. Samus bit her lip gently, a hand resting on her breast, the other resting on his shoulder. Adam promptly freed himself of his pressed uniform slacks and undergarments, then returned to rest his body against hers. His erection was achingly rigid. His arms rested beneath her armpits, locking around them. She could feel his manhood pressing against her entry. There was to be no coming back from what was about to happen.

Adam was cautious in his reply. "Are you sure, Samus?"

Samus cupped his face in her hands. A deep, languid kiss followed. She could taste herself on his lips. "I trust you, Adam. More than I've ever trusted anyone. I'm ready. And no need to worry about that, I'm sterile."

"Okay..." Adam nuzzled her nose before preparing himself; he carefully guided himself so that he was just shy of being able to freely enter her. He watched her for any sign of discomfort even though he hadn't begun to actively penetrate yet. Her lips gently spreading, Adam slowly glided himself deeper into her. His eyes remained fixed on her as the slippery walls of her interior contracted against his head and shaft; her face contorted into slight discomfort as her brain registered the sensation. "Are you okay?" he asked gently, still halfway inside her.

Her chest heaved as air quickly filled her lungs. Her voice was trembling from the momentary pain, "Y-yes. Don't worry, it'll pass. Please, keep going…"

Adam slowly buried himself deeper. Feeling him at his deepest point within herself, Samus pinched her eyes shut as the sudden sensation reached its most intense point, her nails digging into his scarred back. To soothe her, Adam kissed and nuzzled her nose, apologetic. "I'm sorry, Samus. Do you want me to stop?"

"I know." Samus whispered, "No, please. Keep going."

Shortly afterward, the ripping sensation gradually faded and Samus was able to lose herself within the deeply personal moment between her and Adam. What started as gentle probing and awkward movement soon turned into rhythmic thrusting and a fluid movement betwixt bodies as they moved in time with the gyrations of one another. She could feel Adam pumping against her barrier, his manhood eagerly seeking her void. To allow him greater leverage within her, Samus drew her legs up and around his waist. A cry of pleasure tore from her throat as her body began to tense as if sensing - and preparing for - the inevitable.

To move things further along, Samus took the liberty of stroking her engorged clitoris. Contrary to what she first thought, Adam didn't seem bothered by her hands-on approach to lovemaking and actually seemed to enjoy the sight of her stroking herself. Suddenly, he found himself quickening his pace within her. The orgasmic sounds of Samus Aran - his Samus Aran - were quickly driving him to the brink.

Before long, Adam found himself involuntarily stop within her as his hips buckled and his every muscle tensed with such intensity it felt like they would all tear at once. A guttural moan tore raw from the depths of his soul as he came within his lover's fertile womb and a warm, almost sleepy feeling, washed over him as he fell into her embrace.

Heavy breathing. Gasping. Their bodies, despite the chill outside, sticky and warm with a shine of perspiration. Intertwined. A mess of rough bed sheets tangled around their legs. There was a certain peace in the air and warm feelings of the bright future ahead. Exhausted, Adam gazed deeply into Samus' eyes, half closed with heavy lids. "You're… welcome to stay at my place for as long as you want, Samus. After all, it's about time the damn place had people in it again."

Samus combed her fingers through his disheveled hair. Equally exhausted, it was all she could do to reply with a slight smile, "Are you suggesting what I think you are, Adam Malkovich?"

He was. The grin on his face told her everything.

A wider smile curved her mouth. "Well, why not? Beats the hell out of my Gunship. Maybe I'll even stick around for a while. Focus on myself for once." She snuggled against him, her eyes closing. "And us."

"...I'd like that, Lady. Truly." Adam kissed her passionately before falling into a deep sleep against her chest.

The bounty hunter joined the General in sleep moments later, lulled to sleep by the beating of their hearts.

Their hearts that now beat only for each other.

 **-FIN**


End file.
